Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls is a novel by Heather Williams (pseudonym of Tui Sutherland) that fictionalizes the rivalry between Laura Ingalls and Nellie Oleson described in On the Banks of Plum Creek from Nellie’s perspective. It was published as a jacketed hardcover by HarperCollins Publishers in 2007 as part of the Little House: Big Adventure reboot of 2007. Heather Williams would go on to write Farmer Boy Goes West.

From the Dust Jacket

Nellie Oleson does not like living in Walnut Grove. It’s dirty and dusty and full of poor farmers.

One day a new girl, Laura Ingalls, comes to school. Laura’s dress is too short, she doesn’t wear shoes, and she lives out on the lonely prairie. But everyone wants to be Laura’s friend. Nellie doesn’t understand: If she’s the prettiest and richest girl in Walnut Grove, shouldn’t she be the most popular?

Nellie will do anything to get Laura Ingalls out of her life, and one day her wish comes true. Something terrible does happen, but not just to Laura Ingalls—it happens to the entire town of Walnut Grove.

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic story On the Banks of Plum Creek introduced readers to Nellie Oleson. Now readers will see events unfold from Nellie’s perspective in Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls, which is an enchanting and eye-opening look at Laura Ingalls’s prairie foe.

Contents

Stranger in the Store (1–12)

School Day (13–23)

Making a Plan (24–34)

The Empty Schoolhouse (35–43)

Beetles for Miss Beadle (44–52)

Grasshopper Weather (53–59)

The Nutcracker (60–71)

An Ordinary Christmas (72–83)

The Most Beautiful Doll (84–95)

Laura Ingalls (96–106)

Country Girls (107–20)

School Yard Games (121–31)

Mrs. Oleson’s Idea (132–46)

A Very Fancy Party (147–62)

Country Party (163–78)

A Mean Trick (179–91)

The Grasshoppers Come (192–206)

The Empty Town (207–18)

Hurried and Sparkling Waters (219–34)