Ten Best Vintage Novel Series for Girls

We live in a throw-away society that places a premium on all things new and shiny.  Toaster breaks?  Buy a new one.  Car not working right anymore?  Buy a new one.  New is supposed to be better.

But I don’t think that’s true…..especially when it comes to literature.

In 1944, C.S. Lewis stated, “There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books.”  He went on to say, “If a reader must read only the new or the old {books}, I would advise him to read the old.”

Reading aloud with my children - regardless of their ages - is one of my greatest mom passions.  I began reading to them in utero and am still keeping it up...umpteen years later.  I know that they are going to choose the more modern books to read in their free time, so we often choose vintage literature to read together as a family.

Why?

• Vintage literature tends to be cleaner and teach good morals.
• Vintage literature encourages children to dream, but also teaches them to help.
• Vintage literature provides a unique ‘primary source’ perspective on historic events.

When I discovered that Amazon carried Megapacks of these books, it was a Happy-Dance kind of day!!  These are such an amazing find, and here's why --

• Each megapack has between eight and fifty (!) books in it.
• They are priced from 59 cents to 1.99.  (That's for the whole pack, not per book.  A steal!)
• They're accessible anywhere, and I can loan them out just like a regular book.

See the Ten Best Vintage Novel Series for Boys. (5/13)

	Five Little Peppers Margaret Sidney's wonderful tales of the Pepper family growing up together in the 'Little Brown House" have charmed readers of all ages for many decades. Under the loving care of the hard-working widow 'Mamsie' Pepper, the Five Little Peppers get into adventures and scrapes, but always benefit from being together as one happy family.  Between them they grow up, fall in love and eventually have children of their own - filling the Little Brown house with another generation of happiness and laughter. Includes all twelve 'Five Little Peppers' Books by Margaret Sidney - published in consecutive order.
	Frances Hodgson Burnett Being both British and American, she writes with a 19th century sensibility, a belief in the ability of hearts to heal and love to conquer. There is so much hope in her core. Her protagonists move from the natural selfishness of childhood to a broader view. Burnett writes vivid descriptions of poverty, ghettos, travel, hurt, chases, food, starvation, and human trancendance and cruelty. The Frances Hodgson Burnett Megapack collects 40 classic works by the author of "Little Lord Fauntleroy," "A Little Princess," and "The Secret Garden." Almost 5,000 pages of great reading!
	Eleanor H. Porter Other than Pollyanna, our first experience with Eleanor Porter's books was through The Good & the Beautiful's High School course, which begins with Just David.  It is such a beautiful story!  I find myself curious about living in Mrs Porter's world, a place where people care about others... Eleanor H. Porter was an American novelist. She wrote mainly children's literature, adventure stories and romance fiction. Porter's most famous novel is Pollyanna and its sequel Pollyanna Grows Up.  This set includes 14 books.
	Lucy Maud Montgomery Montgomery worked as a teacher in various Canadian island schools. Montgomery did not enjoy her teaching career; however, she was content because it afforded her time to write. Beginning in 1897, she began to have her short stories published in various magazines and newspapers. A prolific talent, Montgomery had over 100 stories published from 1897 to 1907 inclusive. This set contains twenty novels, including the complete Anne of Green Gables saga, plus the continuing stories of Emily and Rilla.
	Girl Detective Adventures This volume features 25 novels by some of the top writers of young adult mystery fiction from the 20th century. With more than 2,900 pages of classic crimes, here are the complete Mary Louis Gay series, the complete Madge Sterling series, the complete Penny Nichols series, and many more! If you are a fan of Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, many of these stories were written by the same authors.  Many of the stories are set in the world pre-WW2.
	Carolyn Wells Carolyn Wells was an American author of mysteries, verse, humor, and children's books. In 1910 she decided to devote herself to mysteries and became an early master of the genre, creating two memorable sleuths: Pennington Wise and Fleming Stone. Earlier in her career, she penned two humorous stories featuring Sherlock Holmes and a plethora of other great detectives, both of which are included here. This set includes seventeen full-length mystery novels.
	Bobbsey Twins Meet Nan and Burt, and Freddie and Flossie -- two sets of twins in the Bobbsey family. Their adventures have thrilled generations of young readers. These stories that give us insight into the lives of people living in the US over 100 years ago. There are 72 books in the complete series, which wrapped up in 1979.  Another series, written in the '80s, has another 30 books.  This volume collects the first 15 original Bobbsey Twins books (published between 1904 and 1922).
	Wizard of Oz Whether you are new to the Land of Oz or a returning friend, this volume offers hours of reading pleasure. Collected in The Wizard of Oz Megapack are no less than 17 complete Oz books -- 15 by Oz creator Frank L. Baum, plus two bonus novels by Ruth Plumly Thompson continuing the series. These books encourage love and loyalty, truthfulness and kindness, consideration, bravery and good manners...all traits to be encouraged in young and old alike. They have strong female characters and vivid imagery.
	Louisa May Alcott Beginning with the classic Little Women, Little Men, and Jo's Boys, the Alcott collection goes on to introduce readers to lesser-known novels, plays, short stories, and even a set of letters from Alcott herself. The set contains 39 works from Alcott, including her classics.  This edition also comes with a linked Table of Contents for both the list of included books and their respective chapters. Navigation couldn't be easier.
	Jean Webster Jean Webster (pseudonym for Alice Jane Chandler Webster) was an American writer and author of many books including Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy. Her best-known books feature lively and likeable young female protagonists who come of age intellectually, morally, and socially, but with enough humor, snappy dialogue, and gently biting social commentary to make her books palatable and enjoyable to contemporary readers. This edition contains 7 Works, including Daddy-Long-Legs, Much Ado about Peter, and Just Patty.

Though not available in an e-book megapack, one of our all-time favorite read aloud series with the girls is The All-of-a-Kind Family.  There are six books in the series by Sydney Taylor.  They are set around the time of World War I in New York City, and follow the lives of five stair-step sisters and their parents in a modest tenement.  These heartwarming stories with good morals will delight you and your children!

Access all of our FREE Novel Studies for both modern and vintage literature here.