This book is about a young girl who is brought from India to England by her loving father to a boarding school when she is seven. They deeply love each other, but must separate (as is expected in their society in the early 1900s). With his wealth, Sara Crewe quickly becomes the 'pet' of the school .. but with an unexpected turn of events, she loses everything and instead works as a maid, errand runner, teacher for the small children, and lives in a small room in the cold attic. A drastic change .. and yet Sara remains sweet, kind, and confident in who she is and what it means to be a real princess.
Often in literature there are contrasting characters, and Sara finds one of hers in Miss Minchin, who runs this boarding school. Miss Minchin respects money and those who have it, and despises those who do not. Miss Minchin is 'kind' to Sara and her father when they come, but when Sara's circumstances change Miss Minchin banishes her to the attic and hard work unlike anything she has ever known. Whenever Miss Minchen gets angry at Sara, Sara thinks about how a real princess would act and does not yell back at her or cry or strongly react. What a contrast .. a grown-up woman who basically has temper tantrums and is rude whenever she has the chance .. and a young child who is kind and patient and shows real love (not just favoritism or spoiling), and seeks to treat everyone with respect as real humans. Oh, that we would all be princess (and princes) .. choosing wisely and loving well.
| Title: | A Little Princess |
|---|---|
| Author: | Frances Hodgson Burnett |
| Date published: | 1905 |
| Genre: | Childrens |
| Number of pages: | 192 |
| Notes: | repeat reading. a friend read aloud the first chapters for me! |
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