Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

This unforgettable classic has been captivating children and adults alike for more than a century. Rebecca's widowed mother has a failing farm, meager resources, and seven children to raise. When her spinster sisters offer Rebecca a home and an education, Mrs. Randall bundles her second eldest into a stagecoach with a kiss and an admonition to stay out of mischief. Could she be asking too much of the free-spirited imp with sparkling eyes and insatiable curiosity? Kate Douglas Wiggin wrote children's books to finance the school she started in the slums of San Francisco in 1878. Her first book was published in 1883, and by 1887 she had become a popular success. But the publication of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm in 1903 won her major acclaim both here and in Great Britain.

The willful, chatty ten-year-old Rebecca Rowena Randall has been sent away from her home at Sunnybrook Farm to live with her two spinster aunts in the quiet town of Riverboro-where it is hoped she will be brought up as a proper young lady. Precocious, curious, and full of creative energy, Rebecca isn't quite ready to be tamed, leaving the prim and demanding Aunt Miranda with her hands full. But soon, Rebecca's irrepressible spirit and bright intelligence win the hearts of all in Riverboro-including her rigid aunt. As we follow Rebecca's coming-of-age over the course of seven years, we find that she manages to become a fine young lady in the process. The unconventional and charismatic Rebecca, a new kind of female character when she was first introduced in 1903, has since become one of the most beloved characters in children's literature.