Jack and Jill

Louisa May Alcott, more famously known for her "Little Women" series, takes a familiar nursery rhyme and creates a whole novel out of it in one of her last books "Jack and Jill: A Village Story". The story follows the lives of two 13-year-old neighbors, Jack and Jill, in the fictional Harmony Village. They go sledding on the first day of the season whereupon their adventurous natures and competitiveness get the better of them. After sledding down a particularly treacherous slope, both are seriously injured. Patience and sweetness of temperament aren't Jack and Jill's strong suits, and both struggle at times to control their tempers. Luckily they have the influence of their sweet mothers and a group of steadfast friends to show them the virtues of patience and fill their days with the joys of Christmas preparations, a theatrical production and many other imaginative events. As an early forerunner of the "tough love" philosophy of child rearing, "Jack and Jill" is indeed an interesting and entertaining read.