Under review

Girls

This short biography packs a lot of inofrmation into a small book. As a compilation of biography, diary entries, exceprts from little women and oil painting,
it focuses mostly on Alcott's childhood. Alcott lived on a commune with her mother, father, and three sisters. Her father was affectionate but not a great provider, while her mother was source of strength for the entire family. Each sister was a character in her seminal work. As a kid, Alcott was a spirited tomboy, not the demure little lady that society expected of young girls in the 19th century. Between thwarted expectations and severe poverty, Alcott's childhood was not always a happy one, but her parents did everything they could to encourage her writing, and the family was extremely close. Children will be able to identify with Alcott's struggles to determine who she wanted to grow up to be, especially since her diary entries supplement and enlightened the biography portions.

There is some information on Alcott's adulthood, which was marked by great loss, even as she gained fame and wealth through her book, Little Women. She never married, and she lost both of her parents and a sibling at a relatively young age. She herself died at only fifty-five, plagued with bad health. Since so much of Little Women is biographical, the excerpts from the book where she describes the death of Beth, both the character and her real life little sister are very heartrending.

This biography might be a little difficult for kids to read because the vocabulary is somewhat advanced. But for the lucky kid who discovers and loves Little Women, this book will provide valuable insight into those characters.

For ages 9-12 ( )