A Little Princess

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Don't Want to Be a Scullery Maid?
Back in the olden days, kids could be sent to work in factories, farms, cotton mills, or mines. Compared to that, school's a breeze, right? And because kids spend their days in school now, they actually have some real choices about what they want to do when they grow up. Show your students a few child labor pics and they'll be relieved there are labor laws and thrilled they can come to school as often as they like! Then they can check out Shmoop's career guides.

Another Orphaned Girl
If you liked this book and want to check out another by the same author, she has another one out called The Secret Garden. It also includes a girl protagonist raised in India, orphaned, and then transported to England. Unlike Sara, however, she's pushy and not nice. She's a dynamic little character who goes through some internal changes and makes a great compare/contrast to Sara Crewe.