Trix Wilkins's Blog: Much ado about Little Women

This had me at “I’ll be shipping Jo and Laurie for the rest of my life.” (Also that beautiful photo!)

Aleks and the Books

My second book this year, and this time it’s Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I started reading Little Women shortly before Christmas, to get into this cosy, pleasant Christmas vibe. I couldn’t wait to start it as it’s one of the books that’s been on my very personal TBR list for so so long. I finished it now, and… what did I think of it?

“November is the most disagreeable month in the whole year,” said Margaret, standing at the window one dull afternoon, looking out at the frostbitten garden.

“That’s the reason I was born in it,” observed Jo pensively, quite unconscious of the blot on her nose.

Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Little Women is an ultimate classic, telling a story of four sisters – Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth, their daily adventures and struggles, their dreams and aspirations, their personal battles in terms of being poor…

View original post 608 more words

By Trix Wilkins with Daniela Mastropasqua

I recently received an email that made me wonder whether I had just met “Jo March.”

A newly established publisher of variations of the classics, Daniela Mastropasqua struck me as someone as passionate about books as Jo.

Amused by the idea that I might have met Jo from The Courtship of Jo March were she a twenty-first century woman living and working in Italy (or at least someone she might have been friends with), I asked Daniela whether she was Team Laurence or Team Bhaer. Of course I asked other important questions like how one goes about establishing a publishing house and tips she might have for young Jo Marches. Graciously, she answered my barrage of inquiries.

[image error]

How did you come to develop an interest in variations of the classics? 

The classics accompanied my adolescence, marking my romantic soul irreversibly. It was only in adulthood, however, that by chance as I was looking for works to read in their original languages, I learned that there was an entire literature dedicated to variations. I began to read more, and became and more fascinated by how authors invented new endings as a tribute to the original authors.

As a romantic, are you Team Laurence or Team Bhaer, or neither? (And why?)

Team Laurence, of course. Like a true romantic, I feel love should be requited. The truth is that when Jo refused it, my heart broke. During my first reading of Little Women I got angry with Jo. 

How did you go about starting your own publishing house and why?

My publishing house was born during a period of profound change in my life. Once I became a mother, in fact. I didn’t feel like going back to my old job which took me out of the house from morning to night, and I decided to dedicate myself to my true passion. For years, I have been working as editor and translator for various publishing houses, so I simply thought that the time had come to set up my little reality. The choice to publish variations was then natural, given my desire to make this genre known to the Italian public who loves classics. 

[image error]

When did you first read The Courtship of Jo March? 

It was pointed out to me by other readers who are passionate about variations. I first read it three years ago.

Any favourite scenes?

I reserve the right to answer this question once I have finished translating it!

By Trix Wilkins

I loved many things about Greta Gerwig’s film: the music, the writing, the ending…I was left wondering, though, where were the men of Little Women?

The writing

Jo’s writing being the bookends of the film, the depiction of discussions with her publisher (especially how she responds to that question, “Who does she [Jo] marry?”), how Beth is shown to inspire her writing of Little Women, how Jo mourns Beth and struggles even to write after her death, how she is shown in her jacket in the garret with ink-stained hands while “genius burns” by candlelight, laboring physically for her precious sister…The story of Louisa interwoven into the movie like this is exquisitely told. It honors her writing method and sacrifices, and her sister Elizabeth’s influence and significance in her life.

The emotion

I greatly enjoyed the way the story unfolded, with the pairing of scenes done so that it was very clear which past events were pertinent to the present. The music was wonderful and moving, particularly Beth’s piano playing. One of my favorite scenes is of Beth playing while Mr Laurence listens, quietly and discreetly, on the stairs outside so as not to frighten or disturb her. It is incredibly beautiful music…and I love the time that is given in the film to show Beth in her element!

The missing men

Yes, we saw Theodore Laurence, John Brooke, Friedrich Bhaer, grandfather Laurence, father March, on the screen. I just didn’t feel like they were really in the film as people. It felt like they were there as literary devices: Laurie to be told off by Amy and rejected by Jo, John to marry responsible Meg, Friedrich to be the “funny match” for Jo, Mr Laurence to provide money whenever needed, and it feels like even Mr March is only there so Mrs March “can be angry with [him] face to face.”

Perhaps that was part of the intent of the film, to comment on how often little development is devoted to secondary female characters as opposed to male leads by flipping that on its head, but this idea saddens me. A significant part of the charm of Little Women is that it features both strong women and strong men and how closely the beauty and strength of their characters are connected to the quality of their relationships with each other. There are many ways in which all the March sisters are enriched by the admirable example and work of the men that we don’t see, who love them, cherish them, cheer them on, provide for them and live for them.

The absence of Laurie for me was the hardest to watch. I had the feeling I was meant to merely see him as a spoiled wealthy man who got told to get back to work. This Laurie is stripped of just about every noble thing he did in the novel: his encouraging Beth in her music, his encouraging Jo in her writing (he’s the one who calls her “our great American authoress”), his sending for Marmee from Washington, his “digging” for the sake of Jo and his grandfather, his sponsoring a poor student in college…

Something similar happens to John Brooke. He is shown to be an incompetent poor tutor. I would have liked to have seen him honored with more screen time and deeper development the way Elizabeth had been, considering how much Louisa had esteemed the man this character was based on, John Pratt. (The 2018 Masterpiece film does this well.)

I can, however, understand Friedrich Bhaer not being developed as a character in the film, because this accurately reflects his purpose in the novel. He exists purely because Louisa refused to marry Jo to Laurie. This is what makes Greta Gerwig’s casting choice so acceptable, even though he is meant to be “stout,” blond, and forty. He is designed solely to provide a romantic ending for Jo – and in this sense, adheres to canon in spirit if not in letter.

[image error]Collage courtesy of Tom + Lorenzo



The ending

It has always unsettled me: the ending of the novel in which Beth dies, Jo stops writing, Amy stops painting to become “an ornament to society,” Laurie stops composing to join the list of nineteenth century wealthy men plying the “trade to India”… and the marriages that have been debated for a hundred and fifty years ever since.

In light of all that, I loved the ending of Greta Gerwig’s film! I suspect Louisa May Alcott would have applauded. (I like to think she would have liked the ending of The Courtship of Jo March too. At least the publishing house bit ;))

RELATED POSTS



10 things you may not know about Little Women’s Laurie Why Meg says yes: Defending Little Women’s John Brooke Little Women’s Unwritten Letter

Little Women Letters author Gabrielle Donnelly interviews Greta Gerwig (if you haven’t yet read The Little Women Letters, do!).

Louisa May Alcott is My Passion

Note: I am pleased to present this guest post by Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters. Donnelly is an entertainment journalist and she had the chance recently to sit down with Greta Gerwig, writer and director of the latest Little Women movie.

***********************************

Writer and director Greta Gerwig’s last film was the acclaimed coming of age drama “Lady Bird.” A lifelong fan of Little Women, she has said that this was a film she felt she was born to make.

GD: Good to see you, Greta! Can you remember the first time you read Little Women?

GG: No, I don’t actually remember when I first read it because it was just one of the things I’ve always known.  My mother used to read it to me when I was a child, and I feel like it was similar to the Beatles in some way.  I don’t…

View original post 1,867 more words

By Trix Wilkins

Have you ever wondered what happened before Little Women? What would you love to read more about?

[image error]



1 How the Marches fell from fortune (Mr March’s mistake)

How did Mr March lose the family fortune? How did they move from being one of the “first families” to one where the women of the family are earning for food? Did Mr March undergo any sort of character change as a result of his friend’s betrayal?

2 How the Marches fell in love (Mr & Mrs March’s courtship)

How did Mr and Mrs March meet and marry? How did he win her? Was there ever anybody else? From where did each of them hail? What were their families like? Their parents? The extended family beyond Aunt March?

3 How Laurie’s parents met and married (and the consequent drama)

Laurie’s grandfather disapproved of his father marrying his mother – what was that all about? How did his parents even meet? What did they love about each other? How did Mr Laurence find out, what did his wife think? How did Laurie’s parents die?

4 How the Laurences got rich (life pre-Laurie)

How did Mr Laurence get into the trade to India? Was he ever part of the East India Company? How did he meet Laurie’s grandmother? Did he come from money or did he build it from nothing?

5 The making of Aunt March (and pre-rich-Aunt March)

How did Mr and Mrs March (as in Aunt March) meet and what was their courtship like? How did Aunt March spend her time as a young wife? How did her husband die? Why does she advise Meg to marry for money? What was her relationship with her brother like?

6 The story of John Brooke (life and love before Meg)

How did John Brooke grow up and in what circumstances? How did he come to be employed by the Laurences? Did he have a love interest before Meg? Had he ever had his heart broken? What would he have chosen to do with his life, were money not an issue?

7 The young March sisters (before the teen years)

How did Beth start homeschooling (what happened at school)? Jo’s early days of learning – what did she first write, what were her favorite books, what were her school friendships like? Meg and Amy’s adventures “when papa was rich” – what were they?

8 Laurie in Vevey (orphan globe-trotting schoolboy)

Laurie’s schooling and friendships in Vevey, loving and losing his parents (if he ever really knew them), and life in general before meeting the Marches. Did he ever witness firsthand his grandfather’s business exploits (were they ethical…)?

Keen to read any Little Women prequels? Let me know in the comments!

By Trix Wilkins

Librarians Miko and Jenne of the Little Women Cookbook are back to share their favorite food scenes from Little Women, a wedding cake recipe, and what they would do with an unlimited budget…

What’s your favourite food-related scene in Little Women and why?

Jenne: The best cooking scenes in the book are all about failures, aren’t they! Jo’s “standing joke of a dinner” or Amy’s fancy luncheon that no one comes to, or the sad fate of Meg’s currant jelly.

I also have a soft spot for Beth’s “History of a
Squash” article in the Pickwick Portfolio. It’s such a perfect
illustration of her character, and it’s also a recipe that really works!

[image error]Miko replicates the dinner Jo made that Laurie manfully eats through (the edible version!).

“The best cooking scenes in the book are all about failures, aren’t they!”

Jenne, on Little Women

Miko: My favorite meal in the novel has always been the Christmas breakfast the Marches give away. I feel like there are fictional scenes I read and re-read growing up that set me firmly on the path to a public service career, and it was definitely one of them. As a kid, it made me rethink what Christmas should be about.

[image error]The March sisters deliver Christmas breakfast to the Hummels



Your dream library to work in, with an unlimited
budget. What would it look like?

Jenne: There would be SO MANY cozy reading nooks.

And an enormous illuminated fish tank full of
floating jellyfish.

And all the landscaping would be a community
garden.

And the book you are looking for would always be on
the shelf! 

[image error]Courtesy of BrandLDesign via Pixabay

“There would be SO MANY cozy reading nooks… And the book you are looking for would always be on the shelf!”

Jenne, on her dream library

But more seriously, I already work in a beautiful
building in a lovely rural community, so if I had an unlimited budget I’d use
it to bring in top-notch art and music events and workshops, since it’s hard
for people to get into the city for that. 

Miko: I actually feel like I work in my dream library right now – I’m at a midsized branch in a diverse suburb of San Diego, and I love my job as a youth librarian there.

If I had an unlimited budget, I’d beautify our
building and use the endless money for lots and lots of events as well as
scholarships and paid internships for our underserved teens!

” I’d…use the endless money for lots and lots of events as well as scholarships and paid internships!”

Miko, on her dream library

[image error]Library Ball, anyone? (Maybe New Years’…?) Photo courtesy of the State Library of NSW, Australia



Meg and John’s wedding feast – is this in the cookbook? Can we have a sneak peek?!

It absolutely is – in fact it’s in the very first chapter!

It does seem like an odd luncheon, consisting of fruitcake and…fruit? And lemonade, coffee, and water. But we’re guessing that they all had a family dinner later on.

Making the wedding cake was quite an operation.

We made a one-tenth size version of a recipe we found in a period cookbook, and it was still the largest fruitcake we’d ever seen!

We had some difficulty finding enough people who liked fruitcake to eat it, but it was actually delicious.

[image error]What I imagine Meg and John’s cake might have looked like… Courtesy of HannekeV via Pixabay

The wedding cake recipe in our cookbook is long and involved, but here’s the one we adapted it from, The Young Housekeeper’s Friend by Mary Hooker Cornelius:

Five pounds each of flour, butter, and sugar, six of raisins, twelve of currants, two of citron, fifty eggs, half a pint of good Malaga wine, three ounces of nutmegs, three of cinnamon, one and a half of mace. This quantity will bake in one cake in five hours, in two cakes, three hours. Each of these two kinds will keep years, if frosted. Bake in three large pans four hours.Stir the sugar and butter to a cream, beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately, and add them to the butter and sugar, then by degrees put in two thirds of the flour, then the spice and brandy or wine, and last the fruit, mixed with the remaining third of the flour. Have the citron ready cut up, and when you have put a little cake into the pan, put in a layer of citron, then more cake, and again citron and cake alternately.

Thanks again Miko and Jenne! P.S. They’ve also released sneak peek recipes on their blog 36 Eggs. Jo’s Gingerbread Nuts might actually tempt me into the kitchen…

RELATED POSTS:



Tea with the Marches: Interviewing the authors of the Little Women Cookbook (Part 1) Things I share with the Little Women Sisters The Best of Times on the Best of Budgets: In the Footsteps of the L i t t l e W o m e n S i s t e r s

By Trix Wilkins

I only bake with my kids because they love it. Given the choice, I would rather toddle down to our local café and have an apple tart baked by French chefs appear effortlessly in front of me. Having once attempted to create said apple tart (with an unpalatable disaster to show for my efforts over three hours later), I now have tremendous respect for wonderful cooks…hence my excitement to have crossed paths with a couple of librarian-chef-authors!

Thank you Miko and Jenne of 36 Eggs and The Little Women Cookbook for taking the time to share of your bookish and foodish passions in this interview.

If you could have tea with two of the March sisters, who would you choose and what would you talk to them about?

Jenne: I would like to talk to Meg, and find out what her favorite foods and cooking methods were. Did she ever conquer the currant jelly? What flavors were the pink and white ice creams? (We made an educated guess but I’d like to know for sure!) 

My other choice would be Amy, since Mrs. Laurence
would probably offer a very elegant tea, and maybe she could explain to me the
appeal of pickled limes. 

[image error]Courtesy of Jill Wellington via Pixabay

Miko: I’d want to spill the tea with Amy — I bet she knows all the good juicy gossip, and I feel like she gets a lot of unfair hate from Little Women fans.

The second sister I’d choose is Beth, since we
readers get to know her the least of all the sisters. I’m not a cultured
gentleman like Mr. Laurence, who can draw her in with enthralling descriptions
of musicians, so I’d probably break the ice by talking endlessly about my cats
and foster kittens.

Mrs. Laurence would probably offer a very elegant tea, and she could explain to me the appeal of pickled limes. 

Jenne, The Little Women Cookbook

How did your book come into being and what was the
most enjoyable part of the process for you?

It was completely out of the blue!

We had started the 36 Eggs
blog a few years ago purely for our own amusement, and
we were contacted by Ulysses Press to see if we’d be interested in writing a Little
Women cookbook (planned to come out around the same time as the movie).
There are many other literary cooking blogs, but apparently we are one of the
few who had tackled recipes from Little Women. 

We were a little unsure whether we would even know
how to write a cookbook, but we asked ourselves, “Well, who would be more
qualified than us? We are librarians who quote the book to each other
constantly, and we already spend our free time researching historical recipes…We
have more or less been training for this our whole lives!”

[image error] Learn to make ice cream with Meg, molasses candy with Jo, baked squash with Beth, pickled limes with Amy from The Little Women Cookbook: Novel Takes on Classic Recipes from Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, and Friends

We had a very short timeline – less than 4 months
from the initial offer to turning in the manuscript -and since we both have
full-time jobs, we basically ate, slept and breathed Little Women until
it was finished. We have very different skills and interests, so the enjoyable
part of the process was different for each of us:

Jenne: My favorite part was making and interpreting the historical recipes, and trying to understand how 19th century cooks thought about food. And especially getting to discover how delicious the recipes turned out to be!

A seemingly insignificant question (like, “What kind of tea did the March girls drink?”) would send me to the closest university library for hours to find the answer.

Miko, The Little Women Cookbook

Miko: My favorite part was delving deep into the research. I get obsessed. When we were first approached to do the cookbook, I spent the weekend re-reading the novel and noting every single food and drink that appeared in an Excel sheet. A seemingly insignificant question (like, “What kind of tea did the March girls drink?”) would send me to the closest university library for hours to find the answer.

A tea advertisement in Godey’s Lady’s Book, a popular magazine during the setting of Little Women, listed the following teas: Black (Oolong and English Breakfast) and Green (Imperial, Japan, Young Hyson, and Gunpowder).

Stay tuned for Part 2 – Miko and Jenne share their favorite Little Women food scenes, what their dream library would be like, and a Meg & John wedding cake recipe…

RELATED POSTS:



A Little Women Tea Time (from The World Is a Tea Party) A Literary Christmas with Little Women The Art of Amy March in The Other Alcott

By Trix Wilkins

My husband had a Little Women mug made for me featuring one of my favorite quotes, uttered by Theodore Laurence, “I don’t like fuss and feathers.”

Well, that put me in a bit of a mood to see what other Little Women goodies were out there! Here are the top 20 I found (at the time of writing):

[image error] “Keep Calm and Read Little Women” Art Print by Pixel Berry Pie Designs



[image error] “Sail My Ship” Jo March iPhone case by Kate Pollack



[image error] “Adventures” Jo March Art Print by Nicole’s Hand Prints



[image error] “Housekeeping Ain’t No Joke” Hannah T-Shirt by Ownedandloved



[image error] Little Women Quote Wooden Pencils by sixOsixDesign



[image error] Little Women Scrapbooking Pack by Graphic45



[image error] “Castles in the Air” Art Print by Printable Wisdom



[image error] Louisa May Alcott green and rose tea by Literary Tea Company



[image error] Beth’s Housekeeping Mug by The Scarlet Llama



[image error] Little Women Journal Book Cover by The Old Curiosity Shopp



[image error] “Books like Home” Bookmark by The Story Gift



[image error] “A Wonderful and Extraordinary Life” Pendant by Literary Lane Boutique



[image error]“Great plans…Ambitious Mind” Scarf by Thornfield Hall Designs[image error]“Great plans..Ambitious Mind” T-Shirt by Thornfield Hall Designs



[image error] “Good Strong Words” Jo March Mug by The Scarlet Llama



[image error]“Fond of Books” Bookmark by Gold Amour



[image error] Little Women Hollow Book Safe by Secret Safe Books



[image error] “Coffee over Compliments” Amy March Apron by DoubleTrouble



[image error] “Splendid and Heroic” Jo March Art Print by StudioTypeFace



[image error] “Castles in the Air” Printable Poster Set by On Book Street Prints

P.S. I’m on the lookout for a Little Women hardcover journal with quotes inside, and a book box…Don’t suppose any lovely readers have come across any?!

P.P.S. What Little Women gifts have you been waiting for?

By Trix Wilkins

Welcome to Part 2 with Little Women fan and designer Tarissa of Pixel Berry Pie Designs. We’ve had the work of talking starting businesses and organizations – now comes the play!

For all who have wished that a book world could be real, looked for inspiration to create, and just daydreamed of going on holiday with that elusive Little Women character…

If it were possible to jump into books, which part of Little Women would you want to experience “in person” (and be a part of)?

Well, there’s
one scene that I would love to be a part of, just so that I could change the
outcome. And that’s to stop Amy from spitefully burning Jo’s book. It’s the
part of the story that always makes me cry. But your question wasn’t about what
I would like to change in the story, so…

One of the
scenes that brings me the greatest joy is when Beth receives her own little
piano from their kindly neighbor, Mr. Laurence. That’s the moment I’d like to
personally be there for — to see the utter surprise and innocent wonder
written across Beth’s face — and to be there with the rest of the family,
celebrating with dear Beth.

[image error]Courtesy of cinema-fanatic.com



What or who inspires your creativity? When the
genius refuses to burn (if you’ve ever experienced that!), what do you do?

Like Louisa,
who drew from her own experiences and family life, the same is true of me.

In my shop,
you’ll find a collection of things I’m a fan of… Monopoly (please, don’t ask
me how many variations of the game that I actually own)… Doctor Who (sure,
why not?)… inspirational scripture… and of course… literature! Words,
especially well-worded phrases make my heart pitter-patter a little faster.

[image error]“I love you” Storybook Destinations Art Prints from Pixel Berry Pie Designs

So I try to
visually create what my heart feels about certain special book quotes and such.

 And if someone out there in the world can
enjoy that same feeling by looking at my art hanging on the wall in their home,
that’s my greatest hope.

When this
so-called “genius” (your words, Trix, not mine!) doesn’t seem to want
to come through, that’s alright. I have a whole notebook of ideas that I jot
down constantly. Ideas that are just waiting to come to life when I have the
time for it.

[image error]When genius burns… Photo courtesy of louisamayalcottismypassion.com

So when my
minds turns rather blank, then I’ll just flip through the pages until I hit
upon an idea that is something that I can connect with at that moment in time
(there may be hundreds of choices!).

After falling
into my own little “vortex” for a while, I come up for air with a
brand new design to share with the world.

It’s this
notebook that helps carry me through my own version of “writer’s
block”.

Out of all the Little Women characters, who would you…



…be OK being stuck in an elevator with?

Well, it
would definitely have to be someone who wouldn’t go into hysterics over the
situation. That rules a few characters out, methinks. So perhaps I’d choose Jo.
Or Marmee. I think either of them could handle it well. To pass the time away
until being rescued, I could swap stories with Jo, or have a heart-to-heart
conversation with Marmee. We’d totally survive the trauma.

[image error]



… go on holiday with?

Laurie; this
is just obvious.

(By the way,
the only reason at all why I would ever desire to step into Amy’s shoes, is to
go on a European tour, spending quality time with Laurie… Sounds like a
dream, doesn’t it?)

Scotland
would definitely be on our itinerary.

[image error]Courtesy of fotshot via Pixabay



How to enter the giveaway

To go
into a draw to win a copy of Tarissa’s latest Little Women art of the above quote before August 31
(each of the below constitutes one entry – so the more the merrier!):

Answer this question in the comments: Out of all the Little Women characters, who would you go on holiday with? (And where?)Follow Tarissa on Instagram @pixelberrypiePop one of your favorite quotes from The Courtship of Jo March in the comments



[image error][image error]

For those who love a sure thing, this artwork is 20% off through the rest of August. It’s available here in your choice of either Black Text on White, or in Chalkboard. Tarissa will ship an art print to our giveaway winner (US only – digital/printable design will be sent via e-mail to a winner outside the US).

By Trix Wilkins

I was thoroughly excited to win a giveaway last year of one of my favorite Little Women quotes, designed by Tarissa of Pixel Berry Pie Designs – who this month is kindly offering a giveaway of her latest artwork for a reader of Much Ado About Little Women (that’s one of you!).

It’s been a great a joy to pick her brain for her thoughts on Little Women, how her company came into being – and given the choice, who out of the Little Women characters she’d have various adventures with…

[image error]P.S. This is the design I was gifted with last year.

Is there a story behind each of the Little Women quotes you have available? Why did you choose to turn these particular quotes into art?

T: When I create new artwork, I try to use quotes that speak to me. Maybe it’s a phrase that just sticks out because it’s a quirky/funny, or it’s something I truly believe in. The L.M. Alcott quote that I most sentimentally connect might just be this one: “She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.” (I think that may apply to me!)

How did Pixel Berry Pie Designs come into being?

T: My little graphic design company began back in 2008. I was actually inspired to start up an online shop (AKA: heavily prompted) by my mother, who wanted me to create some graphics for her own business.

Soon I was creating digital artwork for other people too – people who lived all over the world!

It’s been a
thrilling ride. I’m always learning about new things by talking with my
customers, and I love getting to work on innovative projects with visionary
people.

And, of course, I consider all my customers as kindred spirits – because apparently, we’re into the same things!

Out of all the Little Women characters, who would you start a business or organization with? (And what?)

T: I’d start a library organization with Jo, providing food for the mind – collecting book donations from the shelves of the rich, to offer to those less fortunate – that is, those who have no books to read.

It would work
as a library system, so that the books would be returned to our collection for
others to be able to read again and again.

Maybe we
could have a wagon of books to drive through town, with our revolving library
cache, dropping books off wherever needed. What fun that would be!

[image error]This is the new design that’s up to be won!

How to enter the giveaway

To go into a draw to win a copy of Tarissa’s latest Little Women art of the above quote before August 31 (each of the below constitutes one entry – so the more the merrier!):

Answer this question in the comments: Out of all the Little Women characters, who would you start a business/organization with? (And what would it be?)Follow Tarissa on Instagram @pixelberrypiePop one of your favorite quotes from Little Women in the comments (it can’t be one you read in this post ;))

For those who love a sure thing, this artwork is 20% off through the rest of August. It’s available here in your choice of either Black Text on White, or in Chalkboard. Tarissa will ship an art print to our giveaway winner (US only – digital/printable design will be sent via e-mail to a winner outside the US).

[image error]Chalkboard version of the giveaway

Stay tuned for Little Women Giveaway #2 with Tarissa from Pixel Berry Pie Designs – Who in Little Women would you go on holiday with?