How is the "work a day world" different from the storybooks?

The "work a day world," as Alcott calls it, differs from the world of storybooks in that it is far from idyllic. Given the many travails that Marmee March and her daughters have to endure, their day-to-day life certainly fits that description.
Nevertheless, things sometimes happen in the storybook fashion in the workaday world, as can be seen at the end of book one of Little Women. It's Christmas, and the March family is gathered together for a sumptuous meal. There's a nice big turkey, stuffed, browned, and decorated; there's the delicious plum pudding that melts in the mouth; and finally, there are the wonderful jellies in which Amy revels like a fly in a honeypot.
Making the occasion ever more like something out of a storybook, Mr. March returns home just in time for Christmas, and the whole family sits happily in front of a roaring fire.