ParentsPick

Little Women — Content Guide for Parents

By Louisa May AlcottLittle Brown1968-10ISBN 9780685471210444 pages
Little Women

Found in this book

  • ViolenceBrief
  • ReligionSupportingChristian
  • Race & cultureBrief
  • Gender rolesCentralTraditional roles, Challenges traditional roles

Not found

  • Scary content
  • Profanity
  • Climate
  • Sexual content
  • Gender & orientation

Content themes

Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.

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Religion

PRESENT

Contains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.

About this book

Meg is the eldest and on the brink of love. Then there's tomboy Jo who longs to be a writer. Sweet-natured Beth always puts others first, and finally there's Amy, the youngest and most precocious. Together they are the March sisters. Even though money is short, times are tough and their father is away at war, their infectious sense of fun sweeps everyone up in their adventures - including Laurie, the boy next door. And through sisterly squabbles, their happy times and sad ones too, the sisters discover that growing up is sometimes very hard to do. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is one of the twenty wonderful classic stories being reissued in Puffin Classics in March 2015.

Frequently asked questions

  • Is Little Women appropriate for a 7-year-old?

    Violence is very mild: an elderly neighbor shakes a boy in anger, and the Civil War is referred to in the background. The family's Christian faith is part of daily life, with Bible-based conversations, a father who is an army chaplain, and a mother who guides her daughters on Christian paths.

  • Does Little Women have violence?

    Found (Brief): Violence is very mild: an elderly neighbor shakes a boy in anger, and the Civil War is referred to in the background.

  • Does Little Women have scary content?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Little Women have religion?

    Found (Supporting, Christian): The family's Christian faith is part of daily life, with Bible-based conversations, a father who is an army chaplain, and a mother who guides her daughters on Christian paths.

  • Does Little Women have race & culture?

    Found (Brief): A man at a party is described with an ethnic insult for being Jewish.

  • Does Little Women have profanity?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Little Women have climate?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Little Women have sexual content?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Little Women have gender roles?

    Found (Central, Traditional roles, Challenges traditional roles): The story shows 1860s expectations that women be docile and skilled at housekeeping, while Jo pushes against them by liking sports and cutting her hair.

  • Does Little Women have gender & orientation?

    Not found in the sources we checked.