Kate Douglas Wiggin was an American children"s author and educator. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878. A few years later she and her sister opened a training school for kindergarten teachers. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is her most well known work. First published in 1888 and a Christmas favorite ever since, this story tells how Carol Bird encourages the rest of the Bird family to make a merry Christmas for the poor Ruggleses, who live behind them. This book is recommended for grades 4-7.