LITTLE MEN

"Loved this book so so so much"

"Just as critical as little women"

"Excellent sequel to <u> Little Women </u>. I love the characters in this book and the story is great. Louisa May Alcott is one of my favorite writers and was an early inspiration to me."

"The toy kitchen description!! I remember it vividly still! "

"I enjoyed this sequel to Little Women, which I may have read part of as a youth. I don't recall reading it in its entirety, although I may have. It definitely wasn't as familiar to me as Little Women. I started Jo's Boys as soon as I finished Little Men, wishing to see how everyone ends up.<br/><br/>I appreciate how Alcott patterns her chapters as little vignettes, moralistic tales. I was easily able to read a chapter and set it aside to return to later. Much like Little Women, it felt like a collection of short stories.<br/><br/>I also liked seeing a healthy educational philosophy promoted in Alcott's book. I'm sure she was influenced by her father's views to some extent. I appreciated the freedoms allowed the boys (and girls, later), the mix of work and play, and the responsibilities and respect expected of them. I'm not well-versed in the history of education but I found myself wondering when in American society did we move away from in-home tutors or boarding houses, and more to just sending children to school during the day.<br/><br/>Some favorite quotes:<br/><br/>"Now, I am going to make a bargain with you, Dan, and I hope you will keep it honorably. Here are twelve good-sized drawers, one for each month of the year, and they shall be yours as fast as you earn them, by doing the little duties that belong to you. I believe in rewards of a certain kind, especially for young folks; they help us along, and though we may begin by being good for the sake of the reward, if it is rightly used, we shall soon learn to love goodness for itself" (p. 149, ch. 10, quoting Mrs Bhaer/Jo).<br/><br/>"Do you have 'em?" asked Dan, looking as if this was new talk for him. "Yes, indeed! I haven't learnt to get on without them yet. My rewards are not drawers, or presents, or holidays, but they are things which I like as much as you do the others. The good behavior and success of my boys is one of the rewards I love best, and I work for it as I want you to work for your cabinet. Do what you dislike, and do it well, and you get two rewards, one, the prize you see and hold; the other, the satisfaction of a duty cheerfully performed. Do you understand that?" (p. 149, ch. 10, quoting Mrs Bhaer/Jo).<br/><br/>"You can learn to be patient and cheerful in spite of pain and no play" (p. 150, ch. 10, quoting Mrs Bhaer/Jo)."

"Loved the humor and lessons"