This newsletter was created to celebrate a show that was one of the best seen on television. In a world that seems to be moving towards the fast-paced, action-packed series, "Little Men" showed us that television and "period shows" can still be good and interesting without the violence and profanity that seems to plague us every time we turn on the t.v.

Included in this newsletter will be:

• Editor's Column - Basically I will come up with something to talk about (yay, I get a soap box!). Hopefully it won't get too preachy. :)
• Jo's Journal - What made the fans of "Little Men" continue watching the show? What were the characters supposed to learn in the episodes? 'Jo's Journal' will give episode reviews from the first episode ('Changes') to the final episode ('Home For Christmas'). (Written by Alesha).
• The Conscience Book - What made Jo decide to keep the school open after Fritz' death? Why didn't Nick go back to sea when he was done with his probation? What made Dan so quick to defend Nat? 'The Conscience Book' will give character reviews and answer the questions of what made each character who they were.
• Trivia - Fun questions based on each of the episodes, the answeres will be given further down in the newsletter.
• Nat's Corner - With so many different kinds of fans it was inevitible that some would want to write fanfiction stories. This section will focus on different author's and their stories. (Edited by Arrow).
• Featured Article - This will feature a different article each issue. This issue and the next will focus on the woman who was the first to imagine "Little Men", Louisa May Alcott. Future articles will include the Pickwick Papers and/or book reviews. (Written by Ruth C.)
• Trivia Quotes - This section will give some of the interesting and funny quotes that were found in the episodes, and you can guess who said it! (The answers will be found later in the newsletter.)
• Photo of the Issue - A featured photo that was found somewhere on the web.
• Movie Reviews - Not only will this section feature "Little Women", and "Little Men", it will also go further to include some of the movies that the cast of "Little Men" were in (e.g. Summer of the Monkeys, Angels In The Infield, Switching Goals, etc.) (Written by Sarah).

I'm still looking for volunteers to help write colums, if you are willing to help, please e-mail me at littlemenfan@excite.com

I hope that you will enjoy this newsletter, and all the newsletters to come. Until next time,

~Rachel G., Editor

Rachel G. - Editor

Sarah - Staff Writer

Alesha - Staff Writer

Arrow - Staff Writer

Ruth C. - Staff Writer

The next all-new episode, character, and movie reviews!

The conclusion to the interesting article on Louisa May Alcott.

A new fan-fiction story.

More quotes, trivia, and photos!

First Episode-
"Changes"
First Aired: Nov. 7, 1998

In my opinion this episode was probably the best performed by all the actors. It all starts out with Jo and Rob and Fritz's grave putting flowers by his headstone. Jo is very sad because it has only been one month that she has been widowed. Rob seems to be trying to understand it all. As they return to Plumfield you see the big yellow house that symbolizes the show's togetherness.

As you get deeper into the show you begin to get to know the characters like Dan and Nat. Dan seems to be a big brother to Nat and totally protects him. Like when Jack and Nat start getting into an argument, Dan steps in to protect Nat. Nat is not very appreciative of it. Nat is a very peaceful person and likes everything quiet. Eventually in the middle of the show we discover Nan.

Nan is the first girl to be admitted into Plumfield. This is a milestone for Plumfield considering it is a school for boys. I feel this episode also had a challenge between girls and boys. Mainly between Jo and Nick (who arrived as the new caretaker to Plumfield) (also who is so unbelievably hot).

My feelings on this episode is that it is probably the best performed out of the whole series. Probably because it was the first episode and was worked on for weeks. Although this is not my favorite it comes very close!

Jo March Bhear

Jo March was born into a prominant family in Concord, Massachusetts. She grew up in a pivitol time in our nation's history. As we go through her life we dicover that her father went to war. He safely returned towards the end of the war. During this time, Jo had a friend named Theodore Lawrence, nicknamed Laurie. Later in her life Laurie asked Jo to marry him but Jo refused, and Laurie later married Amy who was Jo's sister.

After refusing Laurie, Jo went to New York to "find herself" and while she was there she met her future husband Fritz Bhear. Fritz was from Germany and was a professor. He and Jo would talk about writing and about Jo missing home. But then Jo was taken back home when her sister Beth fell ill for a second time with scarlet fever. Beth later died.

After Beth's death, Jo wrote a book about her life and her experiences growing up and sent it to Fritz who showed it to a publisher. Jo wanted to become a published author, and Fritz brought her the finished book. Later, Jo and Fritz got married. Jo and Fritz moved to Plumfield where the ran the Plumfield School for Boys. Fritz taught the school while Jo managed the household, and the well-being of the boys. Fritz and Jo later had a son named Rob.

When Rob was very young Fritz died. Jo was left to manage the boys, and run the school by herself. But she wasn't alone, she got help. She hired a new caretaker named Nick Riley, and had her nephew Franz Bhaer teach the class. Jo still managed the boys. Once in awhile Meg would be there by her side helping her, especially in the beginning.

Jo herself is a strong character with many values. She taught Nick how to read and later, and ran the school successfully but not entirly by herself. She herself is the strongest character in my opinion in the whole series.

1-What was Nick's former profession?
2-What crop did Emil plant the first season?
3-Who was the caretaker before Nick?
4-What year was Fritz born?
5-What was the name of the first student withdrawn in the first episode?
6-How long is the pillow fight on Saturdays?
7-Where did Tommy get sunburned the time he needed Asia's aloe poultice?
8-Why was Nick arrested at the end of Changes?
9-How did Fritz die?
10-What was the name of the first episode?

Little Women portrays the lives of the Marches. There is Chaplin March and Marmee. The four March sisters are Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. The movie and the book is seen through the eyes of Jo.

Jo desired to be an writer. But she doesn't write like how the world during that time period thinks a young woman should. She writes adventure stories and had her sisters act them out. She was also very tomboyish.

Meg is the oldest of the four and desired for an lovely husband and an nice home. She detests the family's lack of wealth because she misses her nice dresses.

Beth was the shy one. She didn't want much out of life; just wanted her family to be together and happy. She was a wonderful piano player; even through the Marche's piano was so out of tune.

Amy is the youngest and desired to be an artist. To be an rich artist that is. She hated being poor and she was determined to marry a rich husband and live in luxury for the rest of her life.

Along through their childhood; Beth and Amy and the earlier stages of womanhood for Meg and Jo they went through the usual twist and turns of life.

"The boy" was an fine example of this case. For both Jo and Amy; that is. Theodore "Laurie" Laurence lived next door to the Marches with his grandfather. He fell madly in love with Jo; but Jo turned down his marriage proposal. But Amy as an small child got Laurie to promise to kiss her before she died. When she and Laurie ran into each other in Europe Laurie finally saw that it was Amy who was his soul mate.

Death is one of the tragedies that they faced. When Beth got scarlet fever she lived through it but it left her with a weak heart until when she was a young woman and she finally passed away to Heaven.

Marriage is one of the happiest and sad times that they had to face. When Meg fell in love with John Brookes; Jo was angry. She didn't want anyone to take away a member of her family. But in time she realized that adding another member to her family was wonderful.

Disappointment was yet another life lesson that Jo had to learn. While in New York she tired to get her stories published in the newspaper. She was told by the publisher that her writing was not what they were looking for.

Love was the final lesson Jo learned by the end of the movie. Professor Fritz Bhaer was rooming in the same boarding house. He helped Jo realize what type of writer she was meant to be. She left New York in anger and after Beth died she wrote about an novel about her and her sisters lives up to that point.

"Little Women" was the title. One rainy day Fritz Bhaer arrived to drop off her book and with a little misunderstanding he left without seeing Jo. When Jo went running out in the rain with his umbrella she cleared up the misunderstanding. They professed their love under the umbrella.

When Great Aunt March died she left her land Plumfield to Jo. Jo decided to open an boys school. "Plumfield" came into existence and the rest is what they call history.

You can find "Little Women" on VHS and DVD at your local video stores.

"Little Women"
1994

Wiona Ryder ................................... Jo
Susan Sarahdan................................... Marmee
Trini Alvando......................................... Meg
Claire Danes........................................... Beth
Kristen Dunst ......................................... young Amy
Samatha Mourthis ................................... older Amy
Christain Bale ........................................... Laurie
Gabriel Bryon .......................................... Friedrich Bhaer
Eric Shultz ................................................. John Brooke
John Neville ................................................ Mr. Laurence
Mary Wicks ................................................. Aunt March
Florence Patterson ........................................ Hannah

1-Merchant Marine.
2-Corn.
3-Silas.
4-1824.
5-Jeremy Leonard.
6-15 minutes.
7-Walden Pond.
8-Becuase he hit Capt. Hoffman.
9-Heart Attack.
10-Changes.

1-I've got tea coming out of my ears.
2-I'm sorry, I don't usually holler like that.
3-My father really doesn't like me. He says I talk too much.
4-You mean to tell me you've been out there carving this whole time?

And the featured quote of the month, is:

5-Life is a puzzle, Meg, and we must never stop searching for the pieces.

On November 29, 1832, Louisa May Alcott was born. At that time no one knew she would one day grow up to be one of the world's most famous authors. They didn't know that thanks to her, novels written for children would change forever because of her most legendary book, "Little Women." No, they didn't know that on that day in Germantown, Penn. such a person was even born.

The Alcotts first moved to Concord shortly after they had to close the Tempest school run by Amos Bronson Alcott (Louisa's father). They had to close because they had let a black child join the school causing parents to quickly draw their children out of the school. They moved to Hillside, which later became know as Wayside after the well-known writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, & his family bought the house. Louisa and her sisters Anna, Beth, & May would often put on plays in the Hillside barn.

Then in 1843 the Alcotts, along with Charles Lane, started a utopian experiment at Fruitlands in Harvard, a community fourteen miles from Concord. Unfortunately it turned out not to be so fruitful and after living on barely any food the family finally left. In 1845 they moved back to Hillside. Three years later in 1848 Louisa had a poem published. At the time she was only 16. During that time the Alcotts had moved back to Boston. At age 17 Louisa wrote her first novel The Inheritance, which wasn't published until 1997. At this time also Louisa and her sisters started the Pickwick Club like the one the March sisters had in Little Women. Louisa and Anna worked as teachers and did sewing to help with the family bills.

Louisa first book, Flower Fables was published in 1854. The book was originally written for Emerson's daughter Ellen. A year later in 1856 the Alcott family contracted scarlet the family survives it but, Lizzie's (Beth) health was permanently impaired. Once again in 1858 the family moves back to Concord, this time the move to the Orchard House or as Louisa called the Apples Slumps. Lizzie later dies that year & Anna becomes engaged to John Pratt. Who later became the model for John Brooke. Louisa started to have suicidal fantasies after the lost of her two sisters.

In the December of 1862 Louisa went to Washington D.C. to work as a Union army nurse in Georgetown. Her father later brought her home after she came down Typhoid fever. Louisa refused to leave think it was not as serious as it was. The fever grew so badly her head had to be shaved to keep the fever from killing. She suffered from hallucinates why she laid sick. Some of them are record in her journal. Even though she lived the fever had a lasting affect on her. A year later her book Hospital Sketches was published. The book was based on her time as a nurse in Georgetown. Many of her gothic thrills were like the ones Jo writes in Little Women. Then in 1864 Moods, her first novel for adults was published.

To be continue following edition. . .

Look for the first story in our next newsletter. Coming Soon - Jan. 2002!

1-Marcus, Quarantine.
2-Meg, Coming Attractions.
3-Nan, Changes.
4-Jo, Blame.

5-Jo, Changes