Little Women in India by Jane Nardin - OPTIONAL

Nardin, Jane Little Women in India, 292 p. New Dawn Publishers, 2012.  $11.  Content: G.  

The four May girls are off the India, as their father works for the British East India Company.  At first they are caught up in the intricacies of British society in India, playing the same games they would if there were back on home turf.  When rebellion breaks out, however, the girls and their mother take refuge in a local village and must do whatever they can to survive in a very different society.  When things calm down, their mother expects life to return to “normal”, but her girls have ideas and minds of their own.  

For me the first few chapters were a struggle in patience as this seemed like a stuffy English attitude transferred part and parcel to an exotic locale.  As the girls become dependant upon the locals, however, it very refreshingly took a turn for the better.  I don’t think girls need to have read the original in order to enjoy this – as long as they can get past those first couple of chapters to the heart of the story.  

HS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher