Anne of Green Gables. Heidi. A Little Princess. These are classics your daughters should read during their childhood. But have you noticed they’re all about orphans? Even the Pevensie children of the Narnia series are often estranged from their family. Where is family life as it should be in the realm of children’s literature? Thank goodness for Little Women!

Here’s another novel in the heart-warming style of the classics, but this time it’s about a young girl and her large fun-loving, rambunctious family: Clara of Strawberry Fields.

Check it out:

Clara Kerger is a dreamy, imaginative, and impulsive girl growing up on a farm in Ilchester, Maryland in the Patapsco Valley. Along with her enormous and perpetually-growing family and her friend Sam, she gets herself into and out of scrapes, constantly trying to control her unpredictable impulses but still finding ways to tumble into disaster. While the turmoil of pre-Civil War America mounts threateningly, her happy, close-knit family remains a haven of laughter and mischief.

As Clara grows up, however, she finds herself changing as her dreams swell to heights which she thinks are unreachable. She begins to believe she can never reconcile her hopes with the reality of her simple farm life and the increasing tension around her. Furthermore, she finds herself hurting the people she loves as she continues to rush into trouble without stopping to think. This novel not only portrays a girl growing from childhood into youth, but it also depicts the joys of life in a huge and warm-hearted family living in the timeless hills of their home at Strawberry Fields.

This is my daughter’s fifth novel! And I have to say, it’s really fun to watch her writing style develop and mature. If you’re looking for more wholesome reading for your kids, check out her other historical novels as well:

You can find out about all her books here.