Tracking T&T: By The Pricking of My Thumbs

(As usual, not my picture,
but it's the version that I own.)

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

I know that I started this T&T review series by writing about the first book in the series. Logically, I should proceed with the second, then the third, and so on. But you’ll have to forgive me since I’ve decided to jump to the fourth book in the series - By The Pricking of My Thumbs. I did reread the second and third books, but somehow I feel more excited to write about this fourth one. So here we are!

Little Men: Becoming Little Children

(Not my picture, but this version is the copy I own.)

Note: I'm actually unsure whether the things mentioned here count as spoilers, since Little Men is something of a slice-of-life. If you haven't read the book, I personally think reading this post won't spoil your future reading of Little Men.

Set after the events of Little Women, Little Men invites us into the hustle and bustle of a school called Plumfield. (Honestly Plumfield isn’t really a school in the traditional sense. But we’ll use the word “school” for convenience’s sake. Read the book to find out what it’s like!) We follow Jo March and husband Frederick “Fritz” Bhaer as they run this school of theirs. 

This time Louisa May Alcott introduces a roster of mainly male characters, predominantly the boys - aka “little men” - studying at Plumfield. Nevertheless adult characters do still make appearances. There’s this one thing about them, perhaps really trivial, that caught my eye. Sometimes Alcott describes them as a “boy” or “girl” - as if they’re children - instead of the usual “man/gentleman” or “woman/lady”. It’s kind of cute, isn’t it? In addition to adding cuteness, I think this strengthens a main theme in Little Men: There are certain areas in which adults are encouraged to imitate children, and should not be ashamed to do so.