Thrwoback

Today's throwback features one of my all time favorite books (I talked about it briefly here).  This isn't just a treasured book from my childhood, it is a book I keep coming back to year after year.  Well...if I'm being honest the book is an occasional re-read but the movie I re-watch every year (see I can like movies).  Yup, this is the rare exception, the one time where I like the movie just as much as the book.  I think it's because the movie stays so true to the book and captures the heart of the story.  And that's really what I love, not the book or the movie, but the story.

This is the illustrated version-I got one
as a gift and it holds an honored spot
on my bookshelf.  

What is this book you ask?  It is Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic Little Women.  Set in New England, Little Women tells the story of 4 sisters as they come of age in the late 1800s.  The four sisters are Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.  Each share the desire to improve themselves and make their family proud but each is different. Whenever I re-read the book I connect differently with each of the sisters.

When I was in graduate school dreaming of being published I felt like Jo.  When I strove to improve my art (music) in college I felt like Amy, learning the hard lesson that talent isn't genius.  When I was first married and poor as poor could be I resonated with Meg and her newlywed monetary struggles.  Always I look at good, sweet, Beth and strive to have her kindness and love.

This book will always have a special place in my heart (cheesy alert-I know) and I frequently recommend it to my students.  It doesn't matter that it's over a century old, the story is as relevant now as ever.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie

Finding yourself...that's kids stuff.