¹     Growing up with three sisters is not always easy. Louisa May Alcott wrote a book about her family of girls. Little Women is said to be a classic. Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832. She was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. When she was young her family moved to Massachusetts. Her father was a teacher. He set up his own school. He believed that students should like learning. Not everyone believed that at that time.
 
²     Louisa liked to act when she was young. She acted out plays with her sisters. Louisa wrote the plays. She also liked to take nature walks. She would walk with another classic author. His name was Henry David Thoreau. The Alcott family moved again. They didn't have a lot of money. Louisa felt she needed to help out. She had many jobs as a young girl. She read to older people. She taught small children. She fixed clothes and did laundry for other people.
 
³     Louisa still loved to write. In 1852, her first poem was printed in a magazine. It was called "Sunlight." She didn't use her real name. She used the name Flora Fairfield. She didn't receive a lot of money for her poem. That was the beginning of her writing career.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable