A Little Princess by: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Poor. Rich. Magical.

Once upon a magical time...

Poor Sara Crewe is made to go stay at Miss Minchin's school for girls. Of course, being there isn't so poor... at first. Sara is given expensive toys and beautiful clothes. She is given maids to wait on her and her father, as a going away present, gives her a doll. But yet something is wrong with the academy. Sara doesn't like it and wishes for her papa back.

Snakey, sly Miss Minchin is mean to Sara, but in such a round about way that Sara can't accuse her of anything. In the classroom Miss Minchin is rude to Sara and doesn't give her a chance to speak up for herself. One time she told Sara that she had to learn French. Sara tried to explain to her that she already spoke French, but Miss Minchin would not listen and called someone to teach her. She could have saved herself a lot of embarrassment and trouble if only she'd let Sara explain that she lived in a French-speaking household. She actually was French! From then on Miss Minchin had a particular dislike for Sara.

While most of the girls are jealous of her, and Miss Minchin doesn't like her, life continues to go on. Sara fascinates some of the girls in the academy and she forms a fast friendship with them. She even befriends the maid. One of Sara's biggest enemies, Lavinia, doesn't approve of the friendship that grows between Sara and her maid. Lavinia is jealous of Sara because Sara took her place in the "rich person's spot" at school.

Then the worst thing possible happens to Sara. Her father dies. She can no longer afford to go to the academy. All her beautiful things are taken from her and she is forced to work in the kitchen, under the pretense that she is a lucky child to even be allowed to continue being in the school. Sara's precious doll, the gift from her father, is taken away from her. But she isn't afraid. This makes Miss Minchin even angrier at her. Her only companion is the maid, the few friends she had who were willing to speak to her after her status dropped, and her imagination. She uses her imagination to create wonderful stories to entertain herself and the other maid while they work. Sara is so full of spirit, but will it be enough to survive Miss Minchin's academy for girls?


My thoughts:

This book is a true classic! Sara Crewe is such a nice girl who befriends all the unwanted people in the academy. She doesn't put on airs about being the richest and she tells stories to everyone, even the maid (which was greatly disapproved upon). If you're looking for a cozy, heart-warming, magical book that you can curl up on the couch and read for hours, you've found it!

Objectional Content:Language: None.
Romance/sexual content: None.
Violence: None.
Drugs/alcohol: None.

8 and up
8/10 stars