Anne of Green Gables

by L. M. Montgomery
I grew up with this series, both the movies and the books.  I love the movies, but they leave out a few characters from the books, and I love her more each time I come in contact with her.  Anne is an orphan accidentally adopted by Mathew and Marilla Cuthbert.  They were expecting a boy and got a girl that was certainly one of a kind.  This book follows a turn of the century Canadian redhead through the ups and downs of her life.  From being the new girl to challenges in friendships, to first dances and everything in between I love it all.  I love how ordinary the facts of Anne's life are.  If I were to spell it out, it would be typical of the time period and not rare today.  What makes this story special is the world Anne creates around her.  Like Pollyanna, she takes the grumpy, ordinary world around her and makes it into her dream, bringing others with her.

Audience
Girls 8 and up should understand the story.  The reading level is quite high, around 8th grade, but I would recommend reading it aloud to younger children if you have the chance

What I Love About These Books
I love Anne.  She is so spunky and funny.  I relate to her, being both a talker and a dreamer myself. I also feel my mother is similar to Marilla Cuthbert in a lot of ways.  I love all the enchanting people she loves, and I love getting to know the less enchanting people she learns to love.  Her adventures keep me in stitches and warm my heart.  I also want to marry someone like Gilbert Blythe.  Just a handsome doctor who has adored me for years, is that too much to ask?

Cautions
Just that this book is hard to read.  It was written over 100 years ago in Eastern Canada, so the language is slightly different.  The rest is entirely appropriate

Series
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside