Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

Genre: Children's Classic
Rating: 5 of 5

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott is the sequel to Little Women. It follows the story of Jo Bhaer and the adventures of the boys and girls she teaches at Plumfield. Other than a few appearances from Amy and Teddy, we don't really see anymore of the March family. The story, however, is really focused on the children, and the lessons learned throughout the book.

One lesson in particular, reminded me of the Atonement of Christ in taking the world's sins upon himself. When one little boy, Ned, was prone to lying, Father Bhaer found a way to cure him of this. Whenever Ned was caught in a lie, Ned would have to give the whip to Father Bhaer. Essentially, Father Bhaer was taking the punishment for Ned's sin. Ned was particularly good at not lying, but eventually he slipped. The scene where he had to deliver the whips was pretty heart-wrenching to me. Most likely because of what it alluded too.

I rather enjoyed this book, and even more so than Little Women. Each of the children had their own foibles and triumphs. Even though some of them were little stinkers, it was good to see them overcome their weaknesses. I especially loved the way Jo and Father Bhaer cared about each and every one of their pupils and tried all they could to teach them. They always did so in as loving manner as possible. It was a good reminder to me of how I should be teaching my own boy.

The next book in the trilogy is Jo's Boys. I am looking forward to reading that one.
I read this book as part of a Classics Challenge.