If Wisconsin wanted to boost its tourism chops it could well turn to the small town of Pepin, birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House books.

Many young readers devoured Wilder’s series about frontier life in the Midwest and beyond. For some, the early attachment lasts well into adulthood.

When writer Wendy McClure rediscovered the books a few years ago, they gave her an idea for both a journey and another book. In The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie, McClure retraced Laura Ingalls Wilder’s journey in obsessive detail.

McClure recently sat down with local writer Sam Weller to explain how she immersed herself in “Laura World.”

Music Button: Glenn Jones, “Of Its Own Kind”, from the album The Wanting, (Thrill Jockey)