Customer Reviews

Louisa: The Life of Louisa May Alcott

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I love picture books and I love biographies... and I love it when both are combined successfully! This warmly illustrated picture book tells of the most beloved American author Louisa May Alcott. Her family was definitely sui generis, holding unusual beliefs and moving often, and Louisa began thinking and writing poetry at a very young age.

This new picture book sheds light on what a noble soul Louisa had, filled of generosity, integrity and character. Highly recommended especially for young readers who love the wonderful Little Women author.

American novelist Louisa May Alcott achieved fame and prosperity with her writing, particularly the novel Little Women. However, her early years were marked by economic hardship as her family struggled to make ends meet. Her father's unconventional ideas about teaching, which included equal treatment of all children regardless of their gender or race, led him to lose his job as an educator more than once. He also felt compelled to give away money to those even less fortunate, leaving Louisa, her mother, and her three sisters with continued worries about money. Although these worries plagued Louisa into adulthood and led her to take on various jobs that she did not enjoy, her happier memories from growing up in a tight-knit family helped to frame her successful writing career.

This informative biographical account presents an interesting opportunity to think about the various connections between economics and the arts. The author makes it a point to emphasize Louisa's financial situation from childhood into adulthood, as well as the motives she had for working in different jobs before she could support herself fully with writing. The lovely gouache and pastel illustrations further add to the artistic appeal of this outstanding book.

Louisa was born into a close-knit family. She was the second daughter in a family that could boast that they had four, quite like the fictional family of girls she wrote about in Little Women. Louisa May Alcott's father was a teacher and believed, quite unlike others in that time period, that girls should receive an equal education to the young men. He also respected his children. People considered his ideas to be "unconventional and even strange." Bronson moved his family to Boston, a place that was wonderful for inquisitive little girls. Her inquisitiveness got her lost one time and almost drowned another, but she prospered until the family moved to Concord, a place she loved.

The family actually bordered on poverty, but the family remained close. Her father was overly generous with money when he had it and had a tendency to "give much of it away to people who were worse off than his family." The family had pillow fights, conducted plays, had "strawberry parties out in the woods" and simply enjoyed life with one another. Louisa's favorite subjects in school were "reading, writing, history, and geography." She began to write at an early age and wrote in a journal. There was little money to be made from writing, but after the Civil War she began to write of her experiences helping in hospitals. Then a publisher thought she might be able to write a "girls book." Perhaps that was something she knew about, but she was worried it would be a flop. Would she waste her time writing about four sisters?

The aura of this whole book is quite dreamlike and Victorian, a quality that is very complimentary to her memory. I loved the ease of the writing and the beautiful full page, vibrant art work meshed very well with this biography. I think what I liked the most about this book was the sense of camaraderie I felt with Louisa and the importance of family in her life. In the back of the book are several of her impressions on life, two childhood poems, additional facts about her, a recipe for New England Apple Slump, a bibliography and a timeline of important dates in her life. If you are a fan of Little Women, this lovely biography may give you more insight into her family life and how it is reflected in her work.

This book is an example of how life shapes art and art shapes life. I loved the way the author tells about Louisa's challenges and how she over came them. Everyone wants to write or draw but most are side lined when it gets tough and seems impossible. This story is inspiring because it shows a gifted author working hard amid life's upsets to be gifted. She never seemed to emotionally rest.

This is a high quality book -- an unusual narrow shape and heavy paper makes this a keepsake. "Little Women" is quasi-autobiographical enough that not much of this book is surprising; The information about the Fruitlands project -- an early vegetarian commune -- was particularly interesting.