In 1880's Dakota Territory, teenager Laura Ingalls struggles to earn her teaching certificate, says good-bye to her sister Mary when she leaves home to attend a school for the blind, and shyly begins a romance with Almanzo Wilder.

Laura and Almanzo Wilder have just been married. Their life on a small prairie homestead begins with high hopes. But each year seems to bring unexpected disasters--storms, sickness, fire, and unpaid debts. These first four years call for courage, strength, and a great deal of determination. Always, though, there is love, especially for the newest member of the family--baby Rose.

When Rose moves to Louisiana to live with her aunt Eliza Jane to finish high school, she is exposed to new cultures, politics, and ways of life.

Ma and the girls follow Pa west by train where they make their home at a rough railroad camp and plan for their own homestead.

An abridged version of the story of five-year-old Charlotte Tucker, who would grow up to become the grandmother of Laura Ingalls Wilder, as she feels the effects of the War of 1812 while living with her family near Boston.

A pioneer father tells his two small daughters why he was unable to shoot a deer for their dinner.