ABOUT THIS BOOK
Award-winning author Susan Beth Pfeffer has created a new story for each of the beloved March sisters from Little Women --Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy--that captures each girl at age 10. Join the unforgettable heroines as they experience the joys and sorrows of sisterhood, family life, and a changing America.
Special Note to Teachers: These books include plenty of information to interest boys as well as girls. (Remember, Joey on the TV show Friends loved reading Little Women)
Meg's Story
Meg, the perfect young lady, is invited to Mary Howe's fancy picnic. But when she unexpectedly needs to watch her younger sisters, will she stay home and miss all the fun or forget her manners?
Jo's Story
When proper Aunt March offers to adopt one of the sisters to help ease the family money problems, tomboy Jo decides to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Beth's Story
Painfully shy Beth meets Abraham Lincoln on her visit to New York City! But back home none of Beth's schoolmates believe her...until she's surprised by an unexpected visitor.
Amy's Story
Beautiful Amy thinks of a clever way to come up with the money for a costly portrait photograph. Will she spend the money on herself or put it to better use?
Meg Makes a Friend
Romantic Meg is thrilled when she's asked to sing at Lily Prescott's wedding. But as soon as Meg meets the groom's much younger sister, Julia, the two girls clash.
Beth Makes a Friend
Beth would do just about anything to help someone in need. When she catches scruffy Sean O'Neill stealing apples from Aunt March's garden, Beth listens to the hungry boy's sad story. She promises to help, but when it isn't enough she makes a plan to steal from wealthy Aunt March.
Jo Makes a Friend
Exuberant Jo never sits still. So when Aunt March asks her to befriend Pauline, a blind girl, Jo can't believe that the girl spends every day cooped up in her bedroom. The two girls seem to have nothing in common--until they're caught in a snow squall that changes their lives.
Amy Makes a Friend
Amy wants to be a great artist. She's got talent; now all she needs is a way to afford art lessons. Her solution: befriend her rich and snobby classmate, Jenny, who'll then invite Amy to sit in on her private art lessons.
Christmas Dreams: Four Stories
This quartet of Christmas stories captures the joyful spirit of the holiday season, as each of the March girls has a choice to make about a beautiful heirloom brooch.
TEACHING IDEAS
In the Classroom
The Portraits of Little Women collection is an exciting way to introduce young readers--both boys and girls--to the American historical period of the mid-19th century. Each story provides connections with the subject areas of language arts, history, social studies, and the arts and offers the chance to explore such themes as careers, customs and traditions, and making decisions.
Pre-Reading Activities
Have students explore America in the 1860s by discussing some of the differences between the Southern and Northern ways of life. Encourage them to keep this information in mind as they read the Portraits of Little Women, imagining the time period in which the March family lives.
Ask students to research events from the Civil War to create a time line. Here are the first and last entries to start them off:
April 12, 1861--Confederate troops attack Fort Sumter
May 26, 1865--Confederate troops surrender
For students
Did you know?
-The Civil War was four years long and took place from 1861 to 1865.
-Fought between the North, trying to abolish slavery, and the South, desperate to preserve slavery, it was also known as the War Between the States or the War of Secession.
-More American soldiers lost their lives in the Civil War than in any other U.S. war.
-Abraham Lincoln was President during the Civil War and his leadership led to the end of slavery.
Thematic Connections
Making Choices -- In all four Portraits of Little Women stories, the March girls are forced to make difficult decisions. Divide the class into four groups and have each group read one of the books. Then have students from each group identify the conflicts in each story and invite discussion using the questions below.
Meg's Story
Meg decides to bring her sisters to her friend's picnic even though she is the only one invited. Did Meg do the right thing? Ask students what they would do in a similar situation.
Jo's Story
Jo decides she must be the one to live with Aunt March. Ask students to explain how Jo's decision might be considered selfish or unselfish.
Beth's Story
Discuss how the March girls reach their decision on who should accompany Father and Marmee to New York. Is their decision fair? Why or why not?
Amy's Story
What is Amy's motivation to use her savings for a photograph of Marmee to give to Father? Ask students if they were ever torn between doing something for themselves or for another, and how they resolved it.
This activity can also be used as a springboard for a discussion on differences between the value of money then and now. Why is taking a photograph such a sacrifice for Amy? What made photos so expensive then? What might be important enough for students to consider spending their own "life savings"?
Customs and Traditions -- Many customs from the mid-19th century are no longer common practice. For example, when Jo visits her Aunt March she asks James, the butler, if her aunt is "receiving" (Jo's Story, p. 17); when the Marches visit New York City, Marmee helps Mrs. Webster with her daughter's trousseau (Beth's Story, p.19). Discuss what other traditions and customs are no longer in practice today.
Have students discuss some of the traditional ways children entertained themselves in the 1860s, before the advent of TV and video games. Note how the Marches create their own entertainment and compare that to how children do so today. What are some of the reasons for these changes? (Dividing the class into four groups, each reading one of the novels, also works especially well with this activity.)
Careers -- When Father announces that he must go to war as a chaplain, Meg and Jo both volunteer to leave school to get jobs and help the family. Meg offers to be a mother's helper, while Jo proposes to be Aunt March's helper. What kind of jobs were available to women during the mid-19th century? Discuss with students how women's roles have since changed.
Interdisciplinary Connections
Language Arts -- Jo is an avid reader of Charles Dickens's novels. Have students research his life and books. Why was he such a popular writer? Discuss other popular or influential writers of the time, such as Emily Dickinson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ask students to list their favorite authors and discuss what makes them so appealing.
History -- Mr. March is invited to New York City to meet with several leading abolitionists. Who were some of the abolitionists? What did they stand for? What were other important issues of the time? Use the "Who Said It?" activity below to start a class discussion.
Who Said It?
Create a sheet for students to match each important American with what they might have said based on their contribution to the 19th century. Feel free to carry this activity further by having students research each American in greater depth.
"I was the sixteenth President, and I fought to end slavery." (Abraham Lincoln)
"I was a slave and I devoted my life to the abolition of slavery." (Frederick Douglass)
"I arranged rescue missions to help many slaves escape to freedom." (Harriet Tubman)
"My invention became a universal household appliance." (Isaac M. Singer)
"The story of Little Women was based on my family life. I was most similar to Jo." (Louisa May Alcott)
"I took photos of battlefield scenes and scenes of army camps." (Matthew Brady)
"I said the circus was the greatest show on earth!" (P. T. Barnum)
"My lyrics reflected the state of the country during war." (Stephen Foster)
"I always believed that women should be able to vote." (Susan B. Anthony)
"In 1868, I was elected President of the United States." (Ulysses S. Grant)
Social Studies -- In Beth's Story, Beth travels with her parents to discover New York City, a city quite different from Concord, Massachusetts. Have students research a favorite city. What was it like in the 1860s? How has the city developed? Have the class explore population, demographics, architecture, transportation, communication, and culture. The songs in the music interdisciplinary connection below add insight into the mood of the country then.
Art -- Amy loves to sketch. Choose an art form for the class to study or have students work in groups, each choosing a form--sketching, painting, sculpting, quilting, or photography. How has the art form developed since the 1860s? Students who wish to may re-create a favorite scene from Portraits of Little Women with their chosen form.
Music -- Print out and distribute the following lyrics of popular war songs of the time period and ask students to follow along while you play the selections. (If you are unable to find recordings of these songs, have your own sing-along!) After listening to the music, discuss what each song means with respect to the state of the country in the 1860s. How do the lyrics reflect the mood? How do the lyrics in today's songs reflect our mood? What do students think each song means?
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Julia Ward Howe
My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword.
His truth is marching on.
Chorus
Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
Oh, Susanna
Stephen Foster
I come from Alabama
with a banjo on my knee
I am goin' to Louisiana my true love for to see.
It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry.
The sun so hot I froze to death,
Susanna don't you cry.
Chorus
Oh, Susanna, oh don't you cry for me,
I am goin' to Louisiana with my banjo on my knee.
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Louis Lambert
When Johnny comes marching home again, hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then, hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will sing and the boys will shout;
the ladies, they will all turn out.
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
When old church bell will peal with joy, hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy, hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and ladies say
with roses they will strew the way.
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
VOCABULARY
Many words and expressions from Portraits of Little Women date back to the mid-19th century. Have the class make a list of words used during the Civil War era and their contemporary versions. Some examples are "spectacles" (Jo's Story, p. 18), "rounds of the commons" and "on the mend" ( Jo's Story, p. 36), and "constable" (Amy's Story, p. 8).
FURTHER READING
Bess's Log Cabin Quilt by Anne D. Love[0-440-41197-1]
Dakota Spring by D. Anne Love[0-440-41290-0]
LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott[0-440-44768-2]