Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy ~ the little women

Meg's Story: Portraits of Little Women ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer, 1997, children's, 112 pages

Meg March is the perfect young lady.  Her gracious manners and sweet personality make her very popular at school.  And when she is invited to Mary Howe's fancy picnic, she wants to go badly.  Nothing her tomboy sister, Jo, says against snobby Mary Howe changes Meg's mind.  Meg claims Jo is just jealous that she wasn't invited too.  But on the big day, the March parents are visiting friends, and the housekeeper is called away on an emergency.  Meg knows she should stay home to watch over her younger sisters — even if it means not going to the picnic.  Still, she doesn't want to miss the fun.  And forgetting her manners, Meg does something that turns the picnic into an unforgettable afternoon.

Jo's Story: Portraits of Little Women ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer, 1997, children's, 112 pages

Tomboy Jo March would rather die than spend time with wealthy, proper Aunt March.  She'd much rather race against the boys at school or star in all the swashbuckling plays she writes.  But when Aunt March offers to adopt one of the March sisters to help ease the family money problems, Jo decides to make the ultimate sacrifice.  She'll tear herself away from her sisters and parents — the family she dearly loves — if it means they'll have a better life.   She's determined to become the perfect lady.  Now Jo has to convince her family that she's sincere about her decision by taking on a role that may be too difficult to act.

Beth's Story: Portraits of Little Women ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer, 1997, children's, 112 pages

Painfully shy Beth March is excited to be visiting New York City with her parents.  The theater, opera, symphony, museums — Beth loves every minute of her adventure.  She even meets Abraham Lincoln, and has the courage to tell him that women deserve the right to vote.

But once she's back home in Massachusetts, none of Beth's schoolmates believe that she really spoke to Mr.  Lincoln or that she even met him.  They know Beth is shy — too shy to speak to a man running for President of the United States.  Even Beth's younger sister, Amy, thinks she's lying.  Now Beth wishes she'd never been to New York — until she's surprised by an unexpected visitor.

Amy's Story: Portraits of Little Women ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer, 1997, children's, 112 pages

Beautiful Amy March, the youngest March sister, is a talented artist.  Everyone praises her lifelike portraits.  The one person she can't draw is herself.  So when a photographer's studio opens in town, Amy is thrilled.  Now her pretty blond curls and piercing blue eyes can be captured forever in a photograph.

A photograph costs quite a bit of money — more than she has, and more than her parents can give her.  Amy thinks of a clever way to come up with the money, and soon she has enough.  But she decides to spend her savings on a gift for her father — a gift that will warm his heart when he's far away from home and that ultimately gives Amy an unexpected gift in return.

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