Book excerpt: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's joy for life inspires her aunts, but she faces many trials in her young life, gaining wisdom and understanding. Wiggin wrote a sequel, New Chronicles of Rebecca.[1] Eric Wiggin, a great-nephew of the author, wrote updated versions of several Rebecca books, including a concluding story. The story was adapted for the theatrical stage and filmed three times, once with Shirley Temple in the title role.