Girls Classic Fiction

Elnora Comstock lives with her widowed mother at the edge of Limberlost Swamp. Her mother is harsh and critical of her daughter, but Elnora is a loving girl who befriends all creatures. She is especially drawn to the beautiful moths that flutter through the trees in Limberlost. Although Elnora longs to go to high school, she has no money to pay for tuition and books. When her cruel mother refuses to help, all seems lost, until Elnora learns she can sell the rare insects she collects. Still, her journey through high school and college will be full of challenges - and surprises.

In 1707, eight-year-old Sarah travels with her father to build a new home in the Connecticut wilderness. Sarah is afraid when she hears animals in the night. She is afraid when she meets her Indian neighbors. She is especially afraid when she is left with an Indian family while her father goes back to get the rest of their family. But when Sarah remembers her mother’s parting words, “Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble,” she learns to be brave even when she’s afraid.

She calls herself Calexa Rose Dunhill - names taken from the grim surroundings where she awoke, bruised and bloody, with no memory of who she is, how she got there, or who left her for dead. She has made the cemetery her home, living in a crypt and avoiding human contact. But Calexa can’t hide from the dead - and because she can see spirits, they can’t hide from her. Then one night, Calexa spies a group of teenagers vandalizing a grave - and watches in horror as they commit murder.

Rilla Blythe, youngest daughter of Anne, is almost 15 in 1914. As her brothers and friends prepare to go off to battle, the irrepressible Rilla realizes that she will be changed forever and the world will never be the same.

Sara Stanley is only 14, but she can weave tales that are impossible to resist. In the charming town of Carlisle, children and grown-ups alike flock from miles around to hear her spellbinding narratives. And when Bev King and his younger brother, Felix, arrive for the summer, they, too, are captivated by the Story Girl.

Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on the porch and a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson. Whether Pippi's scrubbing her floors, doing arithmetic or stirring things up at a fancy tea party, her flair for the outrageous always seems to lead to another adventure.

A country girl named Polly is visiting city friends and comes to realize that this world is quite different than which she has left. Here people are judged according to their dress and manner of speech rather than for their honesty and hard work. Yet all who meet Polly cannot help but be enamored of her; her sweet simplicity is unlike any that they have ever seen, and soon everyone comes to realize that Polly is not someone to be laughed at and ridiculed, but someone to put upon a pedestal for failing to become willing prey to the cynicism of the times.

Wanda Petronski is different from all the other girls in Room 13. Every day she wears the same faded blue dress to school, and every day she tells about her hundred dresses at home. Her classmates joke about her imaginary clothes - until they learn the wonderful secret of the dresses.

A witch's curse ensures that a boy can never wake at night nor sleep when the sun beams. Conversely, a girl is doomed never to sleep at night nor be awake during the daylight hours. Finally, a twist of fate unites them. MacDonald's skill and imagery and grandfatherly style deliver a remarkable story that is accessible and light, yet acutely stirring and imbued with enduring value. Your capacity for imagination is sure to grow through this story that lifts our spirits and fills our minds with joy.

Thirteen-year-old Catherine Cabot Hall put ink to the first unblemished page of her diary on October 17, 1830, the day after her father returned from Boston with the diary tucked conspicuously under his arm. Catherine's mother had died of fever four years before, and now Catherine performed the duties of housewife and mother, living contentedly with her father and younger sister, Matty, on their New Hampshire farm. In spite of the daily hardships, Catherine had much to be thankful for, especially for Cassie, her dearest friend.

It's the end of the 19th century in San Francisco's Chinatown, and ghost hunters from the Maoshan traditions of Daoism keep malevolent spiritual forces at bay. Li-lin, the daughter of a renowned Daoshi exorcist, is a young widow burdened with yin eyes - the unique ability to see the spirit world. Her spiritual visions and the death of her husband bring shame to Li-lin and her father - and shame is not something this immigrant family can afford.

Sarah, Plain and Tall, Skylark, and Caleb's Story, all unabridged and all performed beautifully by Academy Award-winning actress Glenn Close, make up this exquisite audio collection.

Harriet Jacobs’ autobiography, written under the pseudonym Linda Brent, details her experiences as a slave in North Carolina, her escape to freedom in the north, and her ensuing struggles to free her children. The narrative was partly serialized in the New York Tribune, but was discontinued because Jacobs’ depictions of the sexual abuse of female slaves were considered too shocking. It was published in book form in 1861.

When summer comes around, it's off to the beach for Rosalind...and off to Maine with Aunt Claire for the rest of the Penderwick girls, as well as their old friend, Jeffrey. That leaves Skye as OAP (oldest available Penderwick)—a terrifying notion for all, but for Skye especially. Things look good as they settle into their cozy cottage, with a rocky shore, enthusiastic seagulls, a just-right corner store, and a charming next-door neighbor. But can Skye hold it together long enough to figure out Rosalind's directions about not letting Batty explode?

The Penderwick Sisters are home on Gardam Street and ready for an adventure! But the adventure they get isn't quite what they had in mind. Mr. Penderwick's sister has decided it's time for him to start dating, and the girls know that can only mean one thing: disaster. Enter the Save-Daddy Plan, a plot so brilliant, so bold, so funny that only the Penderwick girls could have come up with it. It's high jinks, big laughs, and loads of family warmth as the Penderwicks triumphantly return.

Margaret Simon, almost 12, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she’s anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she’s asked to join a secret club, she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she’s normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she’s got someone else to confide in...someone who always listens.

This is a collection meant to be cherished for a lifetime. Whether encountering these cherished tales for the first or the 50th time, listeners will find enchantment in this collection.

It is bitterly cold, and the Little Match Girl is walking the icy streets in bare feet, trying to sell just one box of matches so she can go home and get warm. But no one wants to buy.... A magical retelling of the classic tale, read by Tamsin Greig.

Little Women follows the lives of four sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March - and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters. The book was an immediate commercial and critical success. Little Women has three major themes: domesticity, work, and true love. It has been made into innumerable adaptations for stage and screen and is an American classic.

Harriet Ann Jacob's autobiography documents her life as a slave and how she attained freedom for herself and her children. Harrowing in its descriptions of sexual abuse, Jacob's slave narrative is notable for the appeal it made to abolitionist women to open their eyes to the realities of slavery. Deemed too shocking for reading audiences at the time, the book was shelved before it was published in 1861 near the start of the Civil War.