Confessions of a Prairie Bitch is Alison Arngrim’s comic memoir of growing up as one of television’s most memorable characters—the devious Nellie Oleson on the hit television show Little House on the Prairie. With behind-the-scenes stories from the set, as well as tales from her bohemian upbringing in West Hollywood and her headline-making advocacy work on behalf of HIV awareness and abused children, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch is a must for fans of everything Little House: the classic television series and its many stars like Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert; Gilbert’s bestselling memoir Prairie Tale... and, of course, the beloved series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that started it all.
Eager young readers can now discover and experience Laura Ingalls Wilder's books like never before. Author Annette Whipple encourages children to engage in pioneer activities while thinking deeper about the Ingalls and Wilder families as portrayed in the nine Little House books. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion provides brief introductions to each Little House book, chapter-by-chapter story guides, and "Fact or Fiction" sidebars, plus 75 activities, crafts, and recipes that encourage kids to "Live Like Laura" using easy-to-find supplies. Thoughtful questions help the reader develop appreciation and understanding of Wilder's stories. Every aspiring adventurer will enjoy this walk alongside Laura from the big woods to the golden years.
Wealthy, spoiled Nellie Oleson is only happy when she is the center of attention, and so she feels angry and left out when Laura Ingalls, a poor country girl, moves to Walnut Grove and is embraced by Nellie's friends and schoolteacher.
Nellie, a Dutch woman who at 16 years of age was pregnant and married against her will to keep her child. She knew that she wanted more in life. It follows her strong and determent struggle in her young life against all the odds to overcome many problems. At the age twenty she met Wilco who had just arrived back from Australia with his parents after a failed immigration attempt. He was only eighteen, could not find his way and felt a stranger in the Netherlands. They fell in love. Together they took on life’s challenges with many obstacles on the way. She became a nurse, learned French and English, self-educated and became a respected and inspirational person to many. Wilco started as a house painter, worked in a rubber factory but wanted more in life. He took on study courses and with aspiration became an international business manager and entrepreneur. They lived in Holland, France twice and in Holland again before moving to Australia to start a new life and eventually find peace with their children and six grandchildren.
Do you want to jump start your connection with joy in a mindful and meaningful way? Living in a turbulent and stressful time has left many of us feeling unhinged and overwhelmed. The pandemic and events of 2020 have changed nearly every aspect of our lives, and we are living in a time that feels vastly different than where we were at the end of 2019. This is truly a "Messy Middle," and it has left many of us feeling frazzled and detached from our purpose and our joy. Enter: A mindful approach to building joy, connection, and fulfillment into your life, starting right now. This tiny book is chock full of the inspiration, intention, and actionable steps that you can take to bring more joy into your every day. Inspired by the podcast of the same name, you'll learn how to navigate the messy middle of difficult situations and hard times. Life lessons on how to reconnect with your joy are gleaned from conversations with both rock stars and candlestick makers; all curated by one rebellious podcaster with a big heart. "Joy is not something that simply happens to us. Joy is a choice and we must keep choosing it." - Henri Nouwen
Nellie Y. McKay (1930–2006) was a pivotal figure in contemporary American letters. The author of several books, McKay is best known for coediting the canon-making with Henry Louis Gates Jr., which helped secure a place for the scholarly study of Black writing that had been ignored by white academia. However, there is more to McKay's life and legacy than her literary scholarship. After her passing, new details about McKay's life emerged, surprising everyone who knew her. Why did McKay choose to hide so many details of her past? Shanna Greene Benjamin examines McKay's path through the professoriate to learn about the strategies, sacrifices, and successes of contemporary Black women in the American academy. Benjamin shows that McKay's secrecy was a necessary tactic that a Black, working-class woman had to employ to succeed in the white-dominated space of the American English department. Using extensive archives and personal correspondence, Benjamin brings together McKay’s private life and public work to expand how we think about Black literary history and the place of Black women in American culture.
The remarkable story of one of the great pioneering women adventures of the 19th century. Intrepid journalist Nellie Bly raced through a ‘man’s world’ — alone and literally with just the clothes on her back — to beat the fictional record set by Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days. She won the race on 25 January 1890, covering 21,740 miles by ocean liner and train in 72 days, and became a global celebrity. Although best known for her record-breaking journey, even more importantly Nellie Bly pioneered investigative journalism and paved the way for women in the newsroom. Her undercover reporting, advocacy for women's rights, crusades for vulnerable children, campaigns against oppression and steadfast conviction that 'nothing is impossible' makes the world that she circled a better place. Adventurer, journalist and author, Rosemary J Brown, set off 125 years later to retrace Nellie Bly’s footsteps in an expedition registered with the Royal Geographical Society. Through her recreation of that epic global journey, she brings to life Nellie Bly’s remarkable achievements and shines a light on one of the world's greatest female adventurers and a forgotten heroine of history.
Whether you love her, hate her, or love to hate her, Nellie Oleson is one of most recognizable literary figures of the 20th century. But Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House on the Prairie series in which Nellie appears, had a secret. . .Nellie wasn't a real person! Instead, she was a composite character created from three girls Laura knew from childhood: Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Estella Gilbert.The Little House character of Nellie Oleson is one-dimensional: snobbish, selfish, and thoroughly unpleasant. But the real women behind Laura's creation? An intriguing mix of the not-so-nice and the unexpectedly redeemable. In short, they were human.Discovering the true stories behind Nellie, Genevieve, and Estella has been a fascinating journey. All three ended up on the West Coast at one point. . .true westward movement! One was widowed twice, one ended up divorced, and one died way too young. Two only had one child, and one had three, though she outlived her youngest by a very long time. There's even some "Nellie-like" drama in there: Embezzlement. Lying on censuses. Shady land deals.But there are some beautiful things, too. . .like the enduring love of a husband after his bride died. Or the rare closeness of a mother and daughter who shared their lives as adults. Or the strength of a young widowed mother who not only cared for her son, but headed out west, in true pioneer fashion, while she did so.Laura Ingalls Wilder did a masterful job of creating the character of Nellie Oleson. But the three real-life women behind that iconic character are, in my opinion, infinitely more intriguing.
From the award-winning picture book biographer of Woody Guthrie comes the inspirational story of Nellie Bly. Born in 1864, during a time in which options were extremely limited for women, Nellie defied all expectations and became a famous newspaper correspondent. Her daring exploits included committing herself to an infamous insane asylum in New York City to expose the terrible conditions there and becoming the first American war correspondent of either sex to report on the front lines of Austria during World War I. In 1889, Nellie completed her most publicized stunt, her world-famous trip around the world in just 72 days, beating the record of Jules Vernes’ fictional hero in Around the World in 80 Days. With an informative text and pen-and-ink illustrations reminiscent of the graphic style of the late 1800s, The Daring Nellie Bly captures the independent spirit of America’s first star reporter, Nellie Bly.
