Family matters
A bitter-sweet tale of the March family, Lousia May Alcott’s “Little Women” will fill you up with the warmth of friendship and family. A semi-autobiographical book, “Little Women” is loosely based upon Alcott’s family – she was the second of four daughters. Despite being published in 1868, the coming-of-age story of the four March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – remains timeless and universal. It tells of love and loss, aspirations and dreams that the sister’s experience on their journey to adulthood.
Over the years, the classic has been adapted into many films and plays. The 1994 film adaptation is one of the most acclaimed version with Winona Ryder as Jo and Christian Bale as Laurie. In 2019, Greta Gerwig’s adaptation was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Winds of change
Kenneth Graham’s “The Wind in the Willows” has been adored from generation to generation. In this enduring classic, we meet his splendid animal characters: Mole, Rat, Mr. Toad and Mr. Badger, and revel in their adventures on the banks of the River Thames. Told in Graham’s gorgeous lyrical prose, readers will be transported with tales of Toad Hall, the Wild Wood. This book is an endearing treasure. Grahame wrote this classic after retiring from his job as a bank secretary and moving to Berkshire. He spent much of his time next to the River Thames and got the idea to expand the bedtime stories he used to tell his son Alastair.
An English summer
From the “Famous Five” and “Secret Seven” to the “Malory Towers” and “Adventures of the Wishing Chair”, Enid Blyton has a story for every age group. But her ‘The Faraway Tree’ series is one that has universal appeal. Jo, Bessie and Fanny come across an ancient tree in the middle of an enchanted forest. The tree is so gigantic that its top reaches clouds that hold magical lands! Together with the tree’s unique inhabitants such as Moonface, Saucepean Man and Silky the pixie, the cousins explore different worlds on top of the tree.
Adventures of Anne
Between 1908 and 1939, Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote seven books about an imaginative, talkative, high-spirited girl named Anne Shirley. Set in the 20th century, in a fictitious town of Avonlea on the tiny Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, “Anne of Green Gables” is the most popular book in the series. And no wonder. It is pure joy to read. It follows the adventures of Anne, a sweet-natured and cheerful girl with bright red hair. An 11-year-old orphan, she is mistakenly sent to live with the Cuthbert family, who had originally intended to adopt a boy. Anne has a quirky imagination and a vivacious manner, which makes her a likeable character. As she gets into hilarious mishaps and merry mischief, you will find yourself rooting for this red-haired girl!
An unlikely friendship
Published in October, 1952, “Charlotte’s Web” is one of the most popular children’s books by E.B. White. A young Fern Arable saves the life of a newborn pig on her father’s farm. She names him Wilbur and nurtures him lovingly. However, when she grows up, she is forced to sell Wilbur to her uncle who intends to slaughter him for food. That’s when Charlotte, a barn spider, who can read and write come up with a way to save Wilbur’s life. With the help of other farm animals, Charlotte convinces the Zuckerman family that Wilbur is actually quite special by weaving words and short phrases in praise of Wilbur into her web. The book weaves a heartwarming tale of an unlikely friendship.
HEAR, HEAR
- Here’s a list of some of classics that are now available for free as audio books:
- “Frankenstein”, written by Marry Shelley and narrated by David Dobrik
- “Great Expectations”, written by Charles Dickens and narrated by James Langton Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte and narrated by Sarah Coombs
- “Persuasion”, written by Jane Austen and narrated by Cynthia Erivo
Picture Credit : Google