The 'Little House on the Prairie' Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The 'Little House on the Prairie' Quiz
Image: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

About This Quiz

The "Little House on the Prairie" book series and the TV show, based on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, are classics in their respective genres. Test your knowledge of the books, the show -- and the differences between them.
Who were Laura Ingalls' parents?
Frederick and Loretta
Lawrence and Mary Grace
Charles and Caroline
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Laura was the second child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls.

On the TV show, Mary marries Adam. Who did she marry in real life?
Roy Brown
Marshall McGrew
no one
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mary Ingalls never married.

What grade did Laura teach in her first teaching job?
kindergarten
third grade
every grade
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Fifteen-year-old Laura had a third-grade teaching certificate but taught students older than herself in a one-room schoolhouse.

Advertisement

Which illness overcomes the family while they're living on Plum Creek?
consumption
scarlet fever
typhus
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Between "On the Banks of Plum Creek" and "By the Shores of Silver Lake," everyone but Pa and Laura get scarlet fever.

Who is Laura's teacher in Walnut Grove?
Eva Beadle
Eliza Jane Wilder
Sarah Hansen
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Miss Beadle was a real person and appears in both the books and show.

In "These Happy Golden Years," what does Laura agree to do for the first four years of her marriage to Almanzo?
not see her family
live on a farm
live in Minneapolis
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Laura agreed to be a "farm wife" in the early years of their marriage.

Advertisement

Who is Laura's teacher in De Smet?
Eliza Jane Wilder
Beatrice LaGrange
Anne Evans
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The teacher in De Smet is Eliza Jane Wilder, Almanzo's sister.

When did the "Little House" TV show premiere?
1972
1974
1976
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Little House on the Prairie" debuted on Sept. 11, 1974.

For how many seasons did the show run?
five
eight
nine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"LHOP" lasted for 9 seasons -- the final episode aired in 1983.

Advertisement

Did Mary go blind in real life?
yes
no
briefly
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The real Mary Ingalls went blind when she was 14.

How many children did they have?
two
four
six
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Laura and Almanzo had one daughter, Rose. They also had a son who died as a baby.

Which Ingalls TV sibling is entirely fictional?
Mary
Carrie
Albert
Grace
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ingallses did have a son, but he died before he turned a year old. The adopted Albert is a creation of the show.

Advertisement

Which of the following characters on the TV show is based on a real person?
Dr. Baker
Nellie Oleson
Adam Kendall
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Laura's archenemy Nellie was a real person -- although perhaps not quite as evil as the TV Nellie.

Who is the book "Farmer Boy" about?
Charles Ingalls
Almanzo Wilder
Cap Gardner
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Farmer Boy" is Laura's account of her husband's childhood in upstate New York.

How do Laura and Mary get to the Dakota Territory?
in Mr. Edwards' wagon
on the train
on foot
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The girls take their first train trip to the railroad camp because Mary is weak.

Advertisement

What's the name of the Ingalls family dog, both in the books and on TV?
Jack
Rover
Brutus
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The real Jack was a bulldog, but on the show he's a sheepdog.

In "The Long Winter," why do the Ingallses have Christmas dinner in May?
Pa was gone over the winter.
The town had been snowed in.
They didn't have enough money in December.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Seven full months of blizzards had the people of De Smet, South Dakota, completely snowed in and starving. Supplies didn't arrive until May.

What was Laura's first real-life job?
seamstress
teacher
nanny
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

To raise money for Mary's schooling, Laura took in sewing work.

Advertisement

In the first book of the series, "Little House in the Big Woods," where did the Ingallses live?
Wisconsin
Minnesota
North Dakota
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The little house in the big woods was outside of Pepin, Wisconsin.

Why did Mary lose her sight?
a fall down a flight of stairs
viral meningoencephalitis
scarlet fever
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The books say that scarlet fever had caused Mary to go blind, but new reports say it was probably viral meningoencephalitis.

Where did Laura and Almanzo end up settling?
Missouri
Kansas
Iowa
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Wilders moved around a bit before settling in Mansfield, Missouri.

Advertisement

Who was "the wildcat from Tennessee?"
Willie Oleson
Mr. Edwards
Albert Ingalls
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mr. Edwards appears in both the books and the TV show, but he probably wasn't a real person.

To where does the Ingalls family move in "By the Shores of Silver Lake?"
a railroad camp in the Dakota Territory
Minneapolis
a shanty town in Iowa
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pa's aunt stops by Plum Creek and tells Pa of a job at his uncle's railroad camp.

In "Little House on the Prairie," the family packs up their covered wagon and move far away. Where do they go?
Missouri
Kansas
Minnesota
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ingallses end up in the prairie near Independence, Kansas.

Advertisement

Complications from this illness killed all four Ingalls sisters.
pneumonia
the plague
diabetes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mary, Laura, Carrie and Grace all had diabetes.

What's the town in "Little Town on the Prairie?"
Walnut Grove, Minnesota
De Smet, South Dakota
Vinton, Iowa
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ingallses are still in De Smet in "Little Town on the Prairie."

The TV show depicts life in Walnut Grove, Minn. In which of the books do the Ingallses live in Walnut Grove?
"Little House in the Big Woods"
"Little Town on the Prairie"
"On the Banks of Plum Creek"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Plum Creek was just outside of Walnut Grove.

Advertisement

In the "Little House on the Prairie" book, the family gets seriously ill with "fever 'n' ague," better known today as ___________.
malaria
cholera
smallpox
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ingallses were most likely sick with malaria.

In the same book, what destroys Pa's crops?
locusts
a tornado
blackbirds
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Blackbirds totally destroy the corn and oat harvests.

Which of the following TV characters is NOT based on a real person?
Miss Beadle
Rev. Alden
Percival Dalton
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nellie's sweet husband, Percival, was a creation of the show.

Advertisement

You Got:
/30
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty