The Little House series was written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and based on decades-old memories of her childhood in the Midwest region of the United States during the late 19th century. The best-known of the books is Little House on the Prairie. The books are told in the third person, and are generally classified as fiction rather than as autobiography. Wilder's daughter, author and political theorist Rose Wilder Lane assisted her mother with the editing of the books. The depth of her involvement, and the extent of her influence on the theme and content of the books, are unclear.

The books have remained continuously in print since their initial publication, and are considered classics of American children's literature. Two won the Newbury Award and several others were named Newbury Honor books. They remain widely read, primarily by girls aged 8-12. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that they are also popular among older girls and adult women who first encountered them as children. The edition of the series currently in print contains illustrations by Garth Williams.

The success of the Little House series has spawned many related books including two series ("Little House Chapter Books" and "My First Little House Books") that present episodes from the original stories in condensed and simplified form for younger readers. Other related titles include sticker and craft books, cookbooks, diaries, calendars, and so on.

Of greater literary interest are four series of books that expand the Little House series to include five generations of Laura Ingalls Wilder's family. The "Martha Years" and "Charlotte Years" series, by Melissa Wiley, are fictionalized tales of Laura's great-grandmother in late 18th century Scotland and grandmother in early 19th century Massachusetts. The "Caroline Years" series narrates the girlhood of Caroline Quiner, Laura's mother, in Wisconsin. The "Rose Years" series follows Rose Wilder Lane from childhood in Missouri to early adulthood in San Francisco, and was written by her surrogate grandson Roger MacBride Allen.

Noted children's author Cynthia Rylant has written a slender volume that covers the two years in Laura's life between On The Banks of Plum Creek and By The Shores of Silver Lake, which go unnarrated in the original books. Two volumes of Laura's letters and diaries have also been issued under the Little House imprint: On The Way Home and West From Home.

The books also formed the basis of a television series, called Little House on the Prairie, starring Melissa Gilbert as Laura and Michael Landon and Karen Grassle as her parents.

List of Books in the Series

• Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
• Farmer Boy (1933) - about her husband's childhood on a farm in New York
• 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 (1971, published posthumously)