Little Women is loaded with rich details about food and meals, which helps to build a picture of a real, living world. Recreating recipes from books gives readers the chance to touch, smell, and taste the same things as the characters, making the experience of reading more fun and memorable. In this follow-up episode to my discussion of Amy March getting busted for having pickled limes with her at school, learn how to make your own pickled limes at home as well as find out what went wrong with Meg’s currant jam when she tries and catastrophically fails to make some for the first time.

Activity: Make Pickled Limes at Home

It’s easy and fun to make your own pickled limes! They are a tasty low-calorie, low-sugar treat that can be served to kids when you read Chapter 7 of Little Women. To make a very basic recipe, mix a little less than one teaspoon of salt into each cup of water. Wash some limes and slice them into eight wedges. Thoroughly clean some mason jars or another airtight glass container. Put the limes into the jars and completely cover with salt water, leaving very little space at the top. Close up the jar and put it in the refrigerator for two or three weeks. When you eat the limes, remove them from the salt water.

For more information, check out The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich. You can also look up many other 19th century recipes for pickled limes, with variations that include vinegar, spices, chiles, or sugar.

Activity: Try Foods from a Story

Make reading with children more memorable by looking for opportunities to prepare and eat foods that are part of the plot. This can bring stories to life in a very memorable way and help children try dishes they may have never heard of. Here are just a few examples of memorable moments involving food that you can try at home or, if possible, in class:

* Give children a piece of Turkish Delight to eat when the White Witch gives some to Edmund in Chapter Four of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

* Eat grapes, figs, onions, plums, papayas, guavas, cantaloupes, almonds, potatoes, avocados, asparagus, and peaches to match the title of each chapter of Esperanza Rising

* Make and eat some tomato sandwiches together after reading about them in Harriet the Spy

* Use food coloring to make green eggs and ham to eat while reading Green Eggs and Ham

* Sip raspberry cordial while reading about Anne and Diana’s disastrous tea party in Chapter Sixteen of Anne of Green Gables

* Eat some marmalade while reading Chapter One of A Bear Called Paddington

* Prepare a chocolate bar with a Golden Ticket inside and give it to a child to open as Charlie Bucket finds his Golden Ticket in Chapter Eleven of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

* Make pumpkin pasties, butterbeer, treacle tarts, roast dinners, and any number of other foods to eat while reading the Harry Potter series

In film adaptations of Little Women, Amy March is often unfairly depicted as a bratty, selfish, shallow girl who only cares about status and money. The real Amy March — the one on the page — is actually a very impressive girl who displays great thoughtfulness from an early age. During her worst day at school ever, Amy shows courage and dignity in the face of very cruel treatment from her classmates and teacher, and she isn’t too proud to reflect on her own mistakes and learn from them. In this episode, hear about how Amy March’s failed attempt to buy popularity with pickled limes turns into a chance for her to improve her character while readers consider the difficulties faced by children who don’t have the money to keep up with the latest trends at school. This close reading of Chapter 7 of Little Women is inspired by the work of Dr. Octavia Cox.

Here’s a printable coloring page showing Amy March with her parcel of limes that kids can color:

Featured Artist: Sumochi

I stumbled across the music of Sumochi, a composer from Osaka, Japan, and I feel lucky to have discovered her! She has an album out called Home Time. It’s pleasant instrumental music that makes my kids mellow out and play nicely on their own. You can find Home Time on most major streaming services.

Activity: Journal Entries by Characters in Little Women

Have students read Chapter Seven of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The text can be found for free at Project Gutenberg:

Little Women: Chapter Seven

Tell students to imagine that they are one of the following characters: Amy, Meg, Mr. Phillips, Jenny Snow, one of the other girls in the class, or Marmee. The students should imagine that they sit down to write in their journals about what happened during the day described in Chapter Seven. They should consider the following questions:

* How do you feel about what happened with Amy and the limes?

* Who is wrong and right in this situation?

* Does the character regret any of his or her behavior?

* Is the character angry or worried or ashamed about anything that happened that day?

Remind students that this writing should show bias because it is written from the point of view of the character. The character’s opinions, not their own, should be what is in the journal entry.

After the journal entries are written, have students share them with one another. Lead a discussion about what each character did right or wrong, and encourage speculation about how the incident could have been handled better or even prevented. Students may wish to give examples of trends they have followed and whether or not these trends were used to encourage bad behavior. Conclude with how Amy gained wisdom and maturity by deciding to learn from her mistakes and improve herself.

You don’t need a degree in child development to learn the traits of a good baby book. In this episode, learn a bit about how babies’ brains are different from ours. Pat the Bunny and Goodnight Moon were both first published in the 1940’s, yet they remain beloved baby books today because they are able to meaningfully communicate with little ones. Find out the traits of a book that will be fun to read with your little one over . . . and over . . . and over . . . and over . . . and over . . . and over again.

Activity: Observe How a Baby Reads Books

Usually, the activities suggested here are for children. But this time, the activity is for adults (or possibly children who can take it seriously.)

Get a few books together for an infant or toddler. The books should follow the criteria discussed in the episode: having no complex characters and a very simple plot, if any at all. Illustrations should be simple and have clean lines with high contrast colors.

Allow the baby to direct the reading completely. Offer a book and begin reading. If the child loses interest in the book, offer a different one. If the child wishes to go back to a previous page or skip ahead to another page, follow along without interfering. Pay attention to which book the child spends the most time with. Are there particular pages that draw the most attention, or actions encouraged by the book that spark the most enthusiasm? Which book gets the most repeat readings? Which words or actions from the book, if does the child repeat after hearing you say them?

This activity can be done formally by collecting data on the number of times a baby looks at a given page or repeats a certain activity and then reporting on results, or informally through observation and discussion.

In this bonus episode, listen to an original story by TQ Townsend and Chloë Townsend. Adding to the Cinderella tradition, this story takes you to the Old West, where a gal named Cindy has to outfox her nasty stepsisters Maybelle and Azeline and her rotten stepma, Madame Lurleen. With gumption and help from loyal friends, Cindy finds her way to a fancy shindig and finds the courage to stand up for herself, her farm, and her family.

Cinderella stories are among the oldest in the world. They appear in every culture throughout time. But why are these stories so common and enduring? Why are they mostly about young women? And how can we continue to keep the tradition of Cinderella Stories alive?

Learn about the basic structure of a Cinderella Story and how to write your own in the first of an ongoing series on this topic.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is a coming-of-age novel that teaches more than just self-reliance -- it's a book adults can come back to in order to learn new things about themselves that they wouldn't have noticed the first time around when they read this book as a preteen.

In this episode, learn about how Brian Robeson has all of his physical and psychological certainties taken away from him, but he emerges stronger than ever. Consider the health impacts of Brian's diet during his forty-seven days alone in the Canadian wilderness and how he rapidly matures in the way he views his parents' divorce.

Kate Di Camillo writes stories that are half poetry and half bananas. All of her books are so much fun, but The Tale of Despereaux is also bittersweet, gruesome, enchanting, and thought-provoking. This book won the Newberry Medal in 2004 and draws heavily on ancient and medieval sources, but has a modern emphasis on forgiveness and second chances.

Activity: Miggery’s alternate life

At age six, Miggery lost her mother and her father sold her to a man who abused her and held her in slavery until she was twelve. She was rescued and brought to the castle, where she was treated better, although sometimes she was still beaten. She ends up nearly deaf, accustomed to being beaten, and having no empathy for other people. What could her life have been like if she had been loved instead of abused? Ask students to write the story of Miggery’s life had she been raised by loving parents who treated her well and helped her develop properly.

Activity: Who is to blame?

Divide students into pairs or groups or groups so they can debate the issue of how much blame should be assigned to Miggery Sow and Roscuro when it comes to the crimes they have committed. How much blame should be given to Miggery, and how much to Roscuro? Did either of them get what they deserve? What punishment best suits the nature of the crimes they committed?

Activity: Sensible Laws

In The Tale of Despereaux, the King outlaws rats, soup, spoons, and bowls because these things were present when his beloved wife died. Ask students to think of examples of objects which should and should not be banned in order to promote the greatest public safety. After brainstorming with peers, students can then write a persuasive essay focusing on why they think something should or should not be banned from society.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH proves that a story about a single mom trying to give her kids a safe home can be an absolutely gripping page-turner. As Mrs. Frisby descends deeper into the rats’ lair, she also goes deeper into the mystery of their origins.

Activity – Imagining an Animal Civilization

In this activity, students may work alone or in small groups. Present the following prompt:

In Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, rats and mice are genetically altered and given medicines that make them as intelligent and long-lived as humans. In the end, they decide to try making their own civilization. If you were a scientists who could do this to any type of animal, which animal would you choose? How do you think these newly intelligent animals would behave? How would they communicate? If they started a civilization, what would their towns look like and what sort of activities would they focus on? Describe this animal civilization’s economy, government, education system, food production, recreational activities, and relationship to human society.

Students could do this activity as a discussion, a short essay, a larger written report, a class presentation, or a large project that include all of those things.

Let’s discuss a terrific, radiant, humble book. Some book, really. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. This book was first published in 1952, and tells the improbable yet heartwarming tale of a friendship between a pig and a spider. It’s also how most school kids learn about death, unless they see The Lion King first.

Pre-reading Activity: Writing About Friends

For anyone who can write letters

Materials needed:

Construction paper or cardstock

pencils, pens, or markers

white glue and glitter

This activity is meant to help students think about the nature of friendship and consider the words we use to describe a true friend. Give the following instructions to each student:

E.B. White was a famous writer who chose his words carefully so that he could express exactly what he needed to. His character Charlotte the spider was no different. Her words were carefully chosen to describe her friend Wilbur and to persuade the humans who met him to value him as much as she did.

Choose a friend or someone that you admire to think about. In the same way that Charlotte chose words to describe Wilbur, select a word that describes that person’s best characteristics. On one side of a piece of thick paper or cardstock, write the name of the person, the descriptive word and its definition. More advanced students should also look up and write down the word’s etymology.

Turn the paper over. Draw a spider’s web using a pencil, pen, or marker. Using glue, write the word they have chosen on top of the web. Sprinkle glitter on the glue and allow to dry, then shake off the excess glitter into a trash can. A squeezable tube of glitter glue is a less messy alternative.

Pictures can be hung up in the classroom windows for the duration of the Charlotte’s Web unit.

Chapter 1 Activity: Injustice

Give students this writing prompt after reading Chapter 1 of Charlotte’s Web.

Fern Arable stops her father from killing a newborn pig because she sees it as an injustice. Injustice is a Latin word that means “wrongfully and unreasonably oppressive.” Research a current or historic example of injustice, then write an essay in which you describe the injustice. Explain how you would correct that injustice if it were within your power to do so.

Chapter 3 Activity: Peer Pressure

In Chapter 3, entitled “Escape,” Wilbur is encouraged by the other barnyard animals to escape from his pen. After he gets out, the Goose asks him “how do you like it?” and Wilbur replies. “I like it. That is, I guess I like it.” Peer pressure led Wilbur to do something that he wasn’t exactly sure about. Like the way Farmer Zuckerman put a fence around the pigpen, parents make rules for their children. Those children (sometimes with the encouragement of their friends) will want to wander outside those boundaries. Give the following writing prompt to your students:

Write an essay explaining when adults should place limits on what children can do, and when they should allow children to do something independently, even if it means things might not go well. Give examples of times when children should rely on adults’ experience and times when adults should not help children so that they can learn on their own and learn to be confident and resilient. Give examples of times when peer pressure can be good or bad, and explain some ways to deal with a situation where your friends are encouraging you to go outside the boundaries your parents have set.

Chapter 5 Activity: Predators and Prey

Put students into pairs. Have each group choose an example of a predator and its prey. They might choose something like spiders and flies, lions and gazelles, cats and rats, or humans and deer. One student will choose to study the predator and the other will study the prey. Each student will produce a report that includes t...

George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is a delightful little fairy tale about the failures of Stalinism and the best possible introduction to twentieth century politics for high schoolers. After reading this book with your students, try an activity in which students discuss or write about the balance of power between citizens and leaders. Who should vote? What should be required of someone before they have a voice in government? How do we find a balance between mob rule and giving away too much power to a few leaders?