Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The classic story of the four March girls: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The March family is poor and Mr. March is away fighting in the Civil War, but they are charitable and value family above material goods. Meg is under a lot of pressure to marry (as she is the oldest) and with the March family's money troubles it is hard for them to ensure her a proper debut. Jo is a gifted writer, while Beth is a talented pianist. Amy, who is partial to dramatics in her demeanor, finds that she is a gifted artist later in life and even studies abroad when she is grown.

Laurie lives next door and is the girls' near constant companion. He even proposes to Jo, who turns him down, and eventually marries Amy after running into during her time abroad.

The March sisters enjoy their fair share of adventures both good and bad, funny and sad from Amy's lime dilemma to ice skating to Meg's attendance of Annie Moffat's debut to Jo's manuscript to Beth's gift from Mr. Laurence to the Pickwick Club.

Meg eventually marries Mr. Brooke, Laurie's tutor, much to Jo's dismay.

Beth contracts scarlet fever from the baby of a family she offered her assistance to, which leaves her weakened. She passes away before novel's end.

Jo moves to New York where she pursues her writing and meets Prof. Bhaer, who encourages her to write what she knows. She rejects Laurie's proposal and eventually marries Prof. Bhaer. She inherits Plumfield, rich Aunt March's estate, and she turns it into a boarding school for boys.

Amy studies art abroad with rich Aunt March and runs into Laurie, which begins their love affair. They marry and have a daughter, whom they name Beth.

Genre: Fiction/Classic

Alcott, L. M. (1962). Little women. New York: Macmillan.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice sets off for an adventure when she follows the White Rabbit down his rabbit hole and finds herself in Wonderland, a land of pure nonsense, in this classic novel. Throughout her adventure Alice finds herself shrinking and growing resulting from eating and drinking any number of items. Sometimes her height or lack thereof works to her advantage, sometimes it does not. She meets starnge made up characters like the Jabberwocky and unexplainable characters like the Cheshire Cat who appears and disappears at whim. All creatures in Wonderland fear the Queens of Hearts and her horrible temper and as the novel ends Alice soon discovers why. The Queen of Hearts orders Alice's beheading after she expresses disagreement with the King's interpretation of the Knave of Hearts' poem which is judged to mean he is guilty of the crime of stelaing the Queen of Hearts' tarts. Alice awakens suddenly to find herself back at the riverbank where she must have doed off and visited the zany and unforgettable Wonderland.

Genre: Fantasy/Classic

Carroll, L. (1999). Alice in wonderland. New York: North--South Books.

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams

The classic tale about rfrienship between a spider and pig. Wilbur is born the runt of the litter, but thanks to a little girl named Fern her father keeps him instead of killing him. Wilbur and all the other farm animals can talk and Wilbur soon learns to fear that the farmer may still kill him. Charlotte's vows to help her friend and she decides to use her web to show the farmer just how special Wilbur is. When messages like "Some Pig" and "Terrific" appear in Charlotte's web Wilbur gains some celebrity attention drawing people to the farm from far and wide to see the special pig.

As Wilbur is getting ready to go to the county fair he begins to worry about Charlotte. His friend just doesn't seem to have the same spunk. Charlotte is concerned about finishing her egg sac because she knows that her days are numbered. Eventually Charlotte tells Wilbur that soon she will die, but she tries to make Wilbur focus on the fact that he will live and that should be celebrated. Wilbur plays the hero when he saves Charlotte's egg sac, ensuring that Charlotte's babies will be born. When the baby spiders do emerge from the egg sac all but three float away. The three who remain befriend Wilbur, which makes him happy even though he will never forget Charlotte.

Genre: Fiction/Classic

White, E. B. (1952). Charlotte's web. New York: Harper.

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Margaret Simon is almost 12 and has just moved from New York to New Jersey. She's half Jewish and as such "doesn't have a religion" or at least that's what she tells everyone as religion is a touchy subject in her life being that it lead her mother's parents to disown their daughter for marrying a Jewish man. It's not that Margaret doesn't believe in a higher power, it's just that Margaret doesn't need organized religion to talk to him and feel close to him, she talks to him everyday!

Margaret talks to God just like a friend and confidant. She's not afraid to ask him for the things she secretly desires (her period) or to show him her anger. In many ways Margaret uses God as a dear diary of sorts as she relates to him as honestly as others do their bundles of paper secret keepers.

Margaret is your normal, average, everyday girl who delights in the company of sharing a secret club with her friends, anxiously awaits her first kiss, and embarks on a journey to explore religion from the inside out. Pre-teens as well as adults will enjoy this well written classic!

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Classic

Blume, J. (1970). Are you there God? It's me Margaret. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.