A Beginner’s Guide to Little House on the Prairie: The Books, Original TV Series, and New Netflix Adaptation
Interested in watching Little House on the Prairie streaming on Netflix but don’t know where to begin? Today I’m sharing a little history of the famous books, the original iconic television series, and what you can expect from the brand-new Netflix adaptation.
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Review Wire Media for Netflix. This post contains affiliate links and we may earn a small commission on items purchased.
Little House on the Prairie Books
The first book in the Little House series, Little House in the Big Woods, was published in 1932 and written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Before becoming a children’s author, Wilder was a columnist for a farm journal, drawing from her own experiences growing up on the American frontier. Later on, her daughter Rose Wilder Lane took over the series and made some changes to the story.
What made these books so popular is that they gave readers a firsthand look at pioneer life through the eyes of a little girl. Laura’s adventures were exciting, but they also showed what life was like in the rugged American frontier. Readers followed the Ingalls family as they built homes, planted crops, endured terrible winters, moved across the country, and relied on each other and their community when things got super tough. The stories celebrated their wins but also described the hardships that settlers faced during this time.
The Little House books include:
- Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
- Farmer Boy (1933)
- Little House on the Prairie (1935)
- On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)
- By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
- The Long Winter (1940)
- Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
- These Happy Golden Years (1943)
- The First Four Years (published posthumously in 1971)
Little House on the Prairie Original TV Series
If you grew up in the ’70s, ’80s, or even the ’90s, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve watched Little House on the Prairie. The series aired from 1974 through 1983 and ran for nine seasons, with a total of 200 episodes along with several additional television movies and specials.
Inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, the television series followed the Ingalls family as they settled in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The television series was lead by Michael Landon (who played Pa Ingalls) and while it did take creative liberties with the books, it captured the heart it’s audience by focusing on family, community, and finding hope during difficult times. The show also explored some serious topics including disability via Mary’s blindness, poverty, bigotry addiction, grief, and bullying. These topics helped the series last past the book content because you didn’t know what was going to happen in the next week’s episode!
As a millennial, I spent summers watching reruns of the iconic show Little House on the Prairie. Watching the Ingalls family navigate life’s challenges together was comforting because they always solved their problems by the end of the show. There was plenty of humor mixed in with the serious storylines. I still remember how sad it was when Mary lost her vision, laughing at Laura’s rivalry with Nellie Oleson, and noticing how different the series was after Michael Landon stepped away from the lead role.
What’s especially interesting is that Little House on the Prairie has really stood the test of time. Years after it first aired, the series is still shown in syndication and new generations watch Melissa Gilbert’s Laura fall in love with “Manly” or Mrs. Oleson franchise her restaurant and seeing her frantically trying to keep up the demand when her husband and Pa open their own restaurant.
The New Little House on the Prairie Netflix Series
Little House on the Prairie premieres on Netflix on July 9, 2026, bringing Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic stories back to the screen.
Rather than being a remake of the original television series, Netflix’s press release says that this version returns to the books for inspiration. The series is described as part hopeful family drama and part epic survival story, that show both the beauty and the hardships of frontier life. Just as in the books, Laura sis the main character as viewers experience the struggles, triumphs, resilience, courage, and optimism of the people who settled the American frontier.
According to the Netflix press release, the Ingalls family is portrayed by Luke Bracey as Charles Ingalls, Crosby Fitzgerald as Caroline Ingalls, Alice Halsey as Laura Ingalls, and Skywalker Hughes as Mary Ingalls.
If you’re revisiting a childhood favorite or discovering Little House on the Prairie for the very first time, I think that now is the time to pick up the books or watch some of the Michael Landon run series reruns. The center of the story remains the same: family, community, and being resilient when life gets hard.
