Seeing Out Loud

As you may know from reading By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder's older sister Mary went blind at age fourteen from a case of what Laura called scarlet fever. What you may not know is that without this tragedy, the "Little House" books as we know them might not exist. When Mary could no longer see, Pa instructed Laura to be her eyes by describing the world for her sister. This skill of "seeing out loud" honed Laura's ability to paint verbal pictures, an ability that improved her storytelling. The effect trickled down to her writing of the "Little House" books that we love so well. 

Thanks for reading LHCO!
Elizabeth