Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Rebecca arrives in Riverboro on the stagecoach, chattering happily to the driver, Mr. Cobb, who becomes one of her most devoted friends. She is bright, curious and full of dreams, but also dreamy and impulsive, and her mistakes often lead to clashes with Aunt Miranda. With her best friend Emma Jane, she has many adventures in the village, including selling soap door to door to help a poor family win a lamp, where she meets a kind young businessman she calls Mr. Aladdin.

Over the years Rebecca grows into a thoughtful young woman, attends a school in a nearby town and discovers a gift for writing, encouraged by an inspiring teacher. The story is episodic, made up of small events in a quiet village, and its humour comes from Rebecca's vivid imagination and her way of seeing ordinary things. Some of the language and attitudes are old-fashioned, but the warmth of the characters still shines through. The ending is gentle and bittersweet.

Charming, warm and heartfelt, often compared with Anne of Green Gables, which it predates by a few years. Readers who love spirited, bookish heroines will enjoy meeting Rebecca, and the book has remained popular for more than a century. About 288 pages in the Puffin Classics paperback.