Most people, writes Jerusha Abbot to Daddy-Long-Legs, run life as a race, at the end of which they are too tired to be happy.
"I've decided to sit down by the way and pile up a lot of little happinesses."
Here is a charming novel of an orphan who, through pluck and good cheer, wins the patronage of an anonymous trustee of her orphanage she calls "Daddy Long Legs." He sends the clever Jerusha to a girl's college, where she thrives. Her story is odyssey of laughter, love and learning.
Here is one of the most empowering books of all time, a "girl's" book full of fun and whimsy, yet seriously enriching.
Daddy Long Legs has been adapted on stage and screen many times, most famously as the Shirley Temple movie Curly Top, and the Fred Astaire-Leslie Caron movie Daddy Long Legs.
Daddy Long Legs is a classic that still amuses and inspires.