Customer Reviews (272)

American Classic
"Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott has been undervalued for most of its history.This book is a true American Classic.Published originally in October of 1868, it is a story set during the Civil War, but Alcott does not deal with the specifics of the war.Instead, it serves as the pretext for the absence of Robin March, the father of the four "Little Women", for a large portion of the first book.The novel today actually consists of two books, the original "Little Women" from 1868, and the sequel "Good Wives" which was published the following year in April of 1869.The two volumes started being treated as one in 1880.

The first book deals with the growing maturity of the four sisters, and in particularly of Jo and Meg as they have to learn to help their mother out more and do with less during the war, and while their father is away.Meg is the eldest at 16 when the story begins, and Jo (who clearly represents the author) is 15.There is then a gap of a couple years with Beth being just 13 and Amy 12.Their lives transition from that of young girls to young women, and each sister has her own unique traits.Margaret "Meg" with her beauty is following the traditional path in entering society and heading towards marriage.Josephine "Jo" is attracted by intellectual pursuits, in particular reading and writing.Elizabeth "Beth" is very shy and demure.She is also a peacemaker between the sisters, and enjoys helping others.Sadly, she also falls sick and never fully recovers from scarlet fever.Amy is the baby, and likes to tag along with others.She is also used to getting her own way.

The first book is masterful in its simplicity.The story feels real, undoubtedly largely due to the author drawing on her own experiences, but Alcott also cleverly avoids adding too much into it and thereby making it unrealistic.She chooses a good steady pace, and the characters are well defined and consistently portrayed.Her dialogue is not perfect, but that adds to the overall realism of the telling of the story.It is a wonderful story for young women to read, and is also very readable for older readers.

The second book is fairly good too, though it fails to be as believable as the first book as Alcott allowed herself to be convinced to have Jo marry.Alcott never married, and the union she chooses for Jo is a bit unusual and thus it doesn't feel right.Outside of that, though, the second book is a worthy successor to the first.Meg's choice of husband fits perfectly with the character and ideals that she develops in the first book.Most of Jo's actions in the second book also fit well with her character up, including her avoiding marriage with Laurie, her friend and neighbor who plays an important role throughout both books.Only at the point where Jo marries does it not fit.The tragedy of Meg's passing is beautifully described, and the reader is touched by the goodness of her character.Lastly, the full development of Amy fits well, including her choice of spouse.

The Penguin Classics edition of "Little Women" includes a very informative introduction by Elaine Showalter and extensive notes by Siobhan Kilfeather and Vinca Showalter.One of the important notes is that this edition is based on the original publications, and not those which were amended by Alcott for later editions, though obvious printer errors were corrected.There is discussion of some of the changes which Alcott made in the notes to the text.This is a wonderful book, but I will take part of a star away and round down for Jo's forced marriage.

A childhood favorite
I like this book because of Jo March. And I never cry when Beth dies, because she annoys me.

Great Picture Book For Any Collector or Fan of the Movie!!!
This picture book is fantastic! It has several large photos from the "Little Women 1994 movie". A must have for any Little Women fan! It's something I will cherish for years to come.I also posted some pictures of the book to give an example of what the book portrays. I recieved mine new from a seller.

So Happy!
THis book was delivered in the condition promised (Brand new and shrink-wrapped). Great price too!
Thanks.

Disappointed!
Despite the Jessie Wilcox Smith illustrations on the front and back covers, I was very disappointed to discover that the artist's color plates that so perfectly capture the characters and events in this American literary classic, were omitted from this edition. Intending to give it as a gift, I ordered this bookbecause I was under the impression that it had the famous Jessie Wilcox Smith pictures.What a disappointment! ... Read more

Product Description
Part of a series that presents versions of original texts aimed at elementary students of English and reluctant readers, this text is a simplified version of Louisa M. Alcott's "Little Women". ... Read more

Product Description
These three titles in one volume are all set in New England during the last half of the 19th century, and Jo, perhaps the character best remembered, is said to be a portrait of the author herself. ... Read more

Product Description
A junior novelization of the 1995 film of the classic book "Little Women". The March sisters, Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth, try to overcome their family's problems of lack of money and a father away at war, by doing new and exciting things. When their father returns, they will be "Little Women". ... Read more

Product Description
Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy - together they are the March sisters. Their father is away at war and times are difficult, but the bond between the sisters is strong. The family may not have much money, but that doesn't stop them from creating their own fun and forming a secret society. Through sisterly squabbles, happy times and sad, their four lives follow very different paths, and they discover that growing up is sometimes very hard to do. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a book that you can learn from
I love this book!(I have only read pansies).
The character in this book are three school girls and Mrs.Warburton, an old lady.
Mrs.Warburton is a lady who loves to give advice. She is thoughtful and wise. She likes young people, and invites them.
The three school girls have very different personalities. Alice loves books and wants to know everything in the world in a minute. Eva is a sweet and a dutiful girl. And Carrie doesn't have interest to improve her mind and loves books that are useless with fine jewerly and dresses which she could not have.
In this book, Mrs.Warburton gives advice to the three school girls,which you can take with you. She also tells true stories, a sad one and a happy and funny one which you can also learn from.
This was a good short, 31 page story. I really enjoyed reading it. I just wish that the story was longer. It would be interesting to see how the three school girls lived their lives. I recommend this book for 10 and up. It might be complicated for younger readers.This is not a book that you should throw out because it doesn't have anything that is exciting like adventures or mysteries. it's a book that tells you a lot of things that are very useful. If you read it and think it's boring, try reading it again carefully. I hope this review helps! ... Read more