Louisa Learns to Write: Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women

Through persistence and hard work, Louisa May Alcott goes from a little girl writing in her “Imagination Book” to the world-renowned author of Little Women. This nonfiction book will inspire creativity and spark interest in writing for kids ages 7–10.

Louisa May Alcott wrote the beloved classic Little Women, but she started out as just a little girl scribbling in her journal.

Born into the middle of a spirited, creative group of sisters, Louisa was always up for exploration, play, dreaming, and creating—the traits that would one day make her a writer. Even when times were hard, Louisa’s family held each other close and persevered. So when Louisa dared to write a novel, she wrote about the thing that mattered most to her—family! The four Alcott sisters became the four March sisters in the smashing hit novel Little Women.

Award-winning writer Kate Hannigan brings Louisa to life, and she is just as spunky and charming as you’d hope Jo March’s creator would be.

★ “… here Hannigan employs a checklist of 'ten habits for becoming a writer' that offers younger readers with similar ambitions a particularly promising road map to follow … Over and above offering helpful guidelines for fledgling authors, this introduction to Alcott and Little Women will prime yet another generation of readers and listeners to fall in love with a perennial classic.”—School Library Journal, starred review