Spring Begins in March

Copeland Family

by Jean Little

This sequel to MINE FOR KEEPS focuses on Meg, Sally's younger sister. Meg Copeland was the "family clown," the youngest child in a large, happy, basically well-run family, and it's very well revealed here just how miserable a child in such a secure situation can be. She's bright, imaginative, and lively, but she has a special knack for doing the wrong thing and running into trouble. She often feels left out and confused and does badly at school, until her parents give her a dog.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Canada, Young Adult, Juvenile, Middle Grade

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Jean Little is a Canadian author, born in Taiwan. Her work has mainly consisted of children's literature, but she has also written two autobiographies: Little by Little and Stars Come Out Within. Little has been partially blind since birth as a result of scars on her cornea and is frequently accompanied by a guide dog.

Reviews

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meg, the youngest Copeland, struggles academically and worries that she is misunderstood and unloved after her sister Sal returns from boarding school and has readjusted to family life.

Of course, in Mine for Keeps, it was Sal who felt isolated, self-conscious and miserable. If only these sisters communicated better!

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spring Begins in March: one of my "random books on the cottage bookshelf" reads. A bit sporadic in terms of plot - it is really just a "three months in the life of" account of the hyperactive Meg Copeland. I enjoyed this 1966 YA novel (preteen maybe) because I saw so much of myself in Meg: ambitious, spastic, a bit irrational... A fine afternoon read, pleasurably void of technology and complication. And not totally irrelevant for a child of 2017! Jean Little has knit a story able to make lasting impressions on children from all generations.

[Robin Noland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that my name was the only one to appear in this library book when I was a fourth and fifth graders. Meg frustrated me but I was obsessed with her and her desire for a dog, her inability to focus and the solutions the family found to help her cope. I've never forgotten this book - but I never read the first one. Amazing to see this title on GoodReads! Blast from the past!

[Audrey Ettinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Jean Little classic. Warm family story with enough conflict among siblings (and here, with Grandma who has come to live with the Copelands) to keep it realistic. Gentle mention of divorce/single parenting through Meg's friend Charlotte. Probably unrealistic treatment of ADHD (Meg could probably use some medication, although she does improve quickly with some support).

Have I really not re-read this in my time on Goodreads?? I usually get Jean Little rereading urges at regular intervals.

[Beth Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to Mine for Keeps. I liked that it wasn't the same sort of "the dog fixes everything" as the previous book, but I thought that the solution to the academic problems -- an hour of personal attention and tutoring daily -- was too facile. Hard to diagnose from a book, but it really looked like a case of undiagnosed ADHD. And there really wouldn't have been much to do about it at the time even if it had been diagnosed.

[Ellen H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading the Jean Little books of my youth and I'm really surprised by how well they hold up. They're startlingly well-written for "issue books" -- written at a time when there weren't so many "issue books", and the issues were often different than you'd see to day in tween literature -- and they make me realize where my standards for good writing came from -- from reading both classics of children's lit and from reading well-written books of the time as well.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it so much

[Bananaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

[Traci Hunziker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite, heartwarming book from my childhood. I've read it many times since I was 10 years old.

[Mrs. S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This follow-up to Mine For Keeps builds on the first book to pack even more of an emotional punch. This time, baby-of-the-family Meg Copeland takes center stage, several years later. Meg is a prickly girl, who struggles to focus in school (to an extent that would almost certainly be diagnosed as some kind of learning disability today) and to find her place at home. As is Jean Little's style, Meg's story is not flashy or overly dramatic; it's a small family story about growing up and discovering when old habits need to change. In this case, at least one solution felt a little too easy, but that didn't make the ending any less emotionally satisfying.

[Maria Moores · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Mine for Keeps (which I could not find on this site), also by Jean Little. I enjoyed both of these books. Someone with a physical challenge may like Mine for Keeps. Someone with homework or dog-training problems may like Spring begins in march especially.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this out loud to my kiddos. Then I found out it was the 2nd in a series. Oh well. We all enjoyed it! Just a good, old fashioned book. I love how Meg and Grandma became friends. (I also love that I got a hardcopy, first edition. The pages are so soft and just holding it made me smile.)

[fathimathu nahila · Rating 5 out of 5]

its good
but not boring