Portraits of Little Women Books
Meg March is the perfect young lady. Her gracious manners and sweet personality make her very popular at school. And when she is invited to Mary Howe’s fancy picnic, she badly wants to go. Nothing her tomboy sister, Jo, says against snobby Mary changes Meg’s mind. Meg claims Jo is just jealous that she wasn’t invited too. But on the big day, the March parents are visiting friends, and the housekeeper is called away on an emergency. Meg knows she should stay home to watch over her younger sisters–even if it means not going to the picnic. Still, she doesn’t want to miss the fun. And forgetting her manners, Meg does something that turns the picnic into an unforgettable afternoon.
Tomboy Jo March would rather die than spend time with wealthy, proper Aunt March. She'd much rather race against the boys at school or star in all the swashbuckling plays she writes. But when Aunt March offers to adopt one of the March sisters to help ease the family money problems, Jo decides to make the ultimate sacrifice. She'll tear herself away from her sisters and parents--the family she dearly loves--if it means they'll have a better life. She's determined to become the perfect lady. Now Jo has to convince her family that she's sincere about her decision by taking on a role that may be too difficult to act.
Painfully shy Beth March is excited to be visiting New York City with her parents. The theater, opera, symphony, museums–Beth loves every minute of her adventure. She even meets Abraham Lincoln, and has the courage to tell him that women deserve the right to vote. But once she’s back in Massachusetts, none of Beth’s schoolmates believe that she really spoke to Mr. Lincoln or that she even met him. They know Beth is shy–too shy to speak to a man running for president of the United States. Even Beth’s younger sister, Amy, thinks Beth is lying. Now Beth wishes she’d never been to New York . . . until she’s surprised by an unexpected visitor.
Beautiful Amy March, the youngest March sister, is a talented artist. Everyone praises her lifelike portraits. The one person she can’t draw is herself. So when a photographer’s studio opens in town, Amy is thrilled. Now her pretty blond curls and piercing blue eyes can be captured forever in a photograph. Except that a photograph costs quite a bit of money–more than she has, and more than her parents can give her. Amy thinks of a clever way to come up with the money . . . and soon she has enough. But she decides to spend her savings on a gift for her father–a gift that will warm his heart when he’s far away from home, and that ultimately gives Amy an unexpected gift in return.
Romantic Meg March is thrilled when she's asked to sing at Lily Prescott's wedding. She practices with extra care because she loves the bride and wants the celebration to be beautiful. But as soon as Meg meets the groom's much younger sister, Julia Thorpe, the two girls clash. Meg can't believe that Julia dislikes Lily and is angry when Julia changes the wedding song seconds before the ceremony. What's worse, when the wedding couple takes off on their honeymoon, Julia comes to stay at the Marches! Meg watches as Julia charms all of her sisters--as she seems to take Meg's place in their hearts. It's time for a showdown that will make Meg and Julia enemies for life, or turn enemies into special friends.
Exuberant Jo March never sits still. Whether she's racing against boys or scribbling and acting in her latest play, Jo is always active and creative. So when Aunt March asks her to befriend Pauline Wheeler, Jo can't believe that the girl spends every day cooped up in her bedroom. True, Pauline is blind and utterly dependent on her governess, but her fear of life exhausts Jo's patience. The two girls simply have nothing in common--until they're caught in a snow squall that changes their lives.
Beth March would do just about anything to help someone in need. She's kind-hearted, loyal, and caring. So when she catches Sean O'Neill stealing apples from Aunt March's garden, Beth listens to the hungry boy's sad story. She's moved to hear that Sean's widowed mother and younger siblings are immigrants from poverty-stricken Ireland. But times are hard in Massachusetts too. Sean's mother has been ill and out of work, and with sisters and brothers to care for, Sean has had to scrape up food for them any way he can. Promising to help, Beth gives him whatever food and old clothes her family can spare. It's not enough. Beth's big plan: stealing from wealthy Aunt March. But Sean's own thieving forces Beth to question what being a true friend really means--and together they discover generosity in someone who seems the most cold-hearted.
Amy March wants to be a great artist. She's got the talent; now all she needs is a way to afford art lessons. Her solution: befriend her rich and snobby classmate, Jenny Snow, who'll then invite Amy to sit in on her private art instructions. But Jenny can't be bothered with Amy's friendly overtures--until Diana Hughes, a new and extremely wealthy girl, chooses Amy as her friend. Now, Amy thinks Jenny will like her too. But the price of art lessons may be higher than Amy ever imagined....
Anger threatens to divide the March family when Jo's beautiful gift journal, in which she collects her most secret and personal thoughts, is read by her sisters.
After being presented Belgian lace to be used for her wedding day in the future, Meg stores it away, yet Jo's desire to have it leads to a bitter feud between the sisters
Amy pursues the interest of a wealthy young boy to enhance her social position, yet when he buys her an expensive gift, she must make her true feelings known
Celebrate each of the March girls' tenth birthdays in this colorfully illustrated collection of four tales with cake recipes and assorted activities.
Losing your way in the woods. . . . Prowling a castle in the dead of night. . . . Finding a treasure in a dusty attic. . . . Finding a frightening force in your own home. . . . The March sisters--Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy--never imagined they'd encounter beings from the spirit world. But in each of these four new eerie stories, one of the March girls finds herself face-to-face with an inexplicable apparition. Could it be that ghosts really do exist? From the Hardcover edition.