Little House of Their Own — Celia Wilkins

The Little House books have captivated millions of readers with their story of Laura Ingalls, a pioneer girl growing up on the American frontier. Now travel back to the generation before Laura's and read the story of Caroline Quiner, the girl who would grow up to be Ma Ingalls in the beloved Little House books. After earning her teaching certificate in Milwaukee, seventeen-year-old Caroline returns to Concord, Wisconsin, to live with her family and teach. She is delighted to repay Mother and Pa for sending her to college, and she enjoys the lively challenge of helping her students learn. Then Caroline runs into her fiddle-playing neighbor Charles Ingalls. He's full of plans to head west as soon as possible. As their friendship turns to courtship, Caroline realizes that she has a difficult decision ahead of her-and a choice that may mean leaving behind her family and everything else she's ever known. A Little House of Their Own is the seventh and final book in The Caroline Years, a series about another girl from America's favorite pioneer family.