LITTLE MONSTERS, by Máire Roche, Aladdin, Aug. 18, 2026, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 8-12)
March sisters have a monstrous secret in Little Monsters, a modern supernatural retelling of the beloved classic Little Women by Máire Roche.
Meg March and her three sisters are monsters. No, really. Meg has teeth that are a little too sharp. Jo gets furry under the full moon. Beth goes night flying on wings that are impossible to hide under her sweaters. And Amy? Well, don’t let her near a body of water or she’ll start sprouting her mermaid’s tail.
Meg is sure their foster mom, Marmee, wouldn’t like any of this if she knew. And Jo’s best friend Laurie, the nice boy next door, would run screaming. To make matters worse, Meg’s small town outside of Salem is on edge. A vicious beast has been spotted in the forest, and Farmer Bhaer believes it’s responsible for his missing chickens. Meg is sure to be blamed if anyone realizes she’s a monster in disguise. And the closer it gets to Halloween, the surer the town is that something evil is hiding in the forest.
Meg doesn’t always remember what she gets up to at night, and sometimes, she wakes alone in a mossy part of the forest and has to find her way back. With John Brooke determined to find out just what Meg is hiding and locals working to uncover the monsters in their midst, Meg must find the culprit herself—or risk losing the little home she’s found with her sisters. —Synopsis provided by Aladdin
Reimagining classics is not a new idea. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Maintaining the spirit of the source work while crafting something new is hard. But when it does work, magic happens.
Such is the case with Little Monsters.
In Little Monsters all the favorite characters (Meg, Jo, Amy, Beth, Marmee, Laurie, John Brooke) are present and a bit younger. Oh, and the March sisters also happen to be monsters.
And while Jo is the star of Little Women, it’s Meg who gets the lead this time around, which is a nice departure. The girls are in foster care, and Meg has taken on the mothering role. Between that and trying to hide her true self, Meg is worn pretty thin. But Meg’s not alone and her relationships with the other characters really shine.
Little Monsters moves quickly, and though it features monsters, it’s not really scary. Readers will find the characters relatable, minus the wings and fangs. Fans of the source material will appreciate author Máire Roche’s take, which stands on its own. It’s a fresh story perfect for heading into the spooky season.
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