'The small hopes and plans and pleasures of children should be tenderly respected by grown-up people, and never rudely thwarted or ridiculed'

Continuing the adventures of the March sisters from Little Women, Little Men follows the story of spirited, determined Jo, now married with two sons, and running a school. But this is no conventional school. Its pupils are a band of boisterous orphans, pillow fights are allowed on Saturdays, and each child is respected for who they are - including Nat, a skinny, nervous boy with a talent for the violin.

Showing how families can take many forms, Louisa M. Alcott's beloved novel is a celebration of the magic of childhood.

Louisa May Alcott (1832-88) was brought up in Pennsylvania, USA. She turned to writing in order to supplement the family income and had many short stories published in magazines and newspapers. She was reluctant to write a children's book but then realized that in herself and her three sisters she had the perfect models. The result was Little Women (1868) which became the earliest American children's novel to become a classic.