When I was eight, I read Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" for the first time. And then I read it again - about twenty-five times in that first year, slurping it up like a delicious piece of my favorite dessert. It was the first time I ever realized that books could be tastier than cake. And every so often, even now, I feel a need for some Alcott-cake; "Eight Cousins" is still one of my favorites.

The story concerns orphaned Rose, the only girl in a family of eight first cousins. On the death of her father, Rose is sent to the family home to meet her new guardian, her father's brother Alec, whom she has never met. Rose is frail, pale, overpoweringly ladylike, and (as you might expect, given her recent history) more than a bit anxious about her new life with Uncle Alec - not to mention all those boy cousins. Alec is a free-thinking doctor who is determined to turn frail Rose into a happy, healthy Rose. As a little girl, I loved reading about Alec taking away Rose's tight leather belts and giving her soft rainbow sashes and scarves; stealing her black coffee and making her milk the cow for fresh milk, and surprising her with skates and warm muffs and sleds and boats. And the truth is, I still like it.

I like Rose too. She can be awfully priggish, but she tries so hard to be good - you don't see that very often in modern kid-lit. (I'm not talking about you, Harry Pottter!) If you ask me (and nobody has), I think kids lose when they don't find integrity modelled for them in books. ( )

Eight Cousins is the story of recently orphaned Rose and her seven male cousins. It is a sweet little story by the author of Little Women. In this, however, nobody is poor. Uncle Alec, a bachelor, is left in charge of 13 year old Rose when her father dies. She goes to live with her Aunt Plenty and becomes acquainted with her seven boisterous cousins. ( )

Rose Campbell is fragile and delicate, in mourning for her recently dead parents and about as far from "boisterous" as a girl can get. Enter her 7 boy cousins, all of them the epitome of "boisterous." Rose's Uncle Alec encourages her to play with her cousins, and soon she is running all over the place, with no time time for being delicate and fragile.

I loved this book because I always wanted older brothers, and since I didn't have them I always loved that Rose had 7 boy cousins who were like brothers to her. I loved all the boys' personalities and how they loved Rose and wanted to play with her. ( )

First of all, this was a first edition with wonderful illustrations. Secondly, I am a total sucker for Louisa May Alcott. Her stories are such parable, and so sweet. I don't want to hear that she is out of date or idealistic or gender biased. The story brought back warm memories of reading "Little Women", "Jo's Boys", and "Little Men" as a young teenager. ( )

I loved this book. It was another of those fairy tale stories with dead parents and being raised by an uncle and a bunch of male cousins. It has a very good moral about lack of vanity and doing good [Phoebe is the maid as well as best friend]. Highly reccomended for tweens. I liked it much better than LITTLE WOMEN ( )

I listened to this via a librivox recording. It was a nice story of an orphan taken care of by a large family. I enjoyed Rose's character and admired her uncle. I liked that fact that the influence of girls on others was explored. ( )

This story of Rose, Phebe, Uncle Alex and all the aunts and cousins stands out in 19thC literature for the jabs it pokes at women's education, societal expectations, medical treatment and social prejudices and practices. Uncle Alex and his loving "experiments" with Rose show us the family love and the family pressures put on young women and alternative thinkers even as we experience old New England. I re-read this every Christmas as a present to myself. ( )

Perennial favorite...I have been reading this every Christmas since I was ten. Great glimpse into wealthy family and social customs of the nineteenth century. It is a clear example of how women and their circumstances have changed. Medicine, travel, education, young women and family dynamicsare examined and Alcott's radicalmism is evident but subdued. ( )

I found this one difficult to begin. It took several attempts to get into the story initially but as the novel went on, it seemed to pick up. It is very much a family oriented story and it is fun to see Rose discover what true family is like while living up on "The Aunt Hill." It does not rate among my favorites but it is a nice story for what it is and I have recommended it to friends in the past. ( )

One of my childhood favorites ( )

I remember really enjoying this book. I loved how Rose comes to meet her extended family of strangers for the first time. I vividly remember the "cold bath" scene--it's an eye-opening look at 19th-century childrearing. ( )

This is another childhood favourite that I have enjoyed reading as an adult. I have never seen (no, not even in Sydney,) fireworks as wonderful as the ones described here!

I read the ebook available here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2726 ( )

I adored my older boy cousins when I was growing up, and I loved this book. I read it many more times than I read Little Women. ( )

my favorite of all of Alcott's books -- I probably read it a dozen times when I was a kid ( )

An old fashioned story about a over-protected orphan who comes under the care of an uncle with progressive ideas about raising a healthy child. Part of the prescription involves mixing her with her seven harum-scarum boy cousins. A reflection, no doubt of Louisa Alcott's own father, and his ideas on education, and perhaps her wish to have a houseful of brothers.

I am not fond of the illustrations. They make Rose seem a little too young, Aunt Plenty a little too slim! Of course, my copy of "Rose in Bloom" is several decades older with more stylish illustrations; fine-line engravings. This edition suffers badly by comparison.

Found in an antique store in Sioux City, Iowa. ( )

This is a marvelous edition of this book with a forward by May Lamberton Becker the authour of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. I have always loved this particular series of Alcotts above the Little Women books. Rose is so much more a believeable character. An enjoyable read for littl girls aged 2-102. ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/f... ( )

This is an absolutely cool book!!!
--C. ( )

Beautifully illustrated novel by the author of Little Women. The story of an orphaned little girl who finds herself surrounded by aunts and her seven male cousins. ( )