What's Abigail Reading? Anne of Green Gables

Abby has really been enjoying the adventures of Anne Shirley this summer. She likes the book, but then she discovered my wife's VHS tapes of the three movies and she absolutely fell in love with it. Here's her take on Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maude Montgomery.

Here's what Abigail says the book is about.

This story is about a girl named Anne who is an orphan and gets adopted by two old people named Marilla and Matthew. Anne finally got to live in a real home. Anne made a new friend named Diana Berry. Then Diana’s mom and dad had a school picnic and it was Anne’s first chance to taste ice cream. Anne loved the ice cream and had a great time at the party. One day Anne invited Diana to have tea. Anne accidentally picked out Marilla’s special wine instead of Raspberry Cordial and got Diana drunk.

Then one winter Diana came over to Anne’s house crying because her little sister was sick and both her parents were at the rally to meet the Prime Minister. Matthew got the doctor and Anne and Diana went to Diana’s house with a bottle of ipecac. Soon they got to the house and Anne asked Mary Joe to boil some water and Diana to bring a change of clothes. Before the doctor came Anne gave every single drop of ipecac. When the doctor came he said that if Anne didn’t give the medicine to the little girl it would have been too late. I am not going to tell you any more.

Here's what Abigail liked best about the book.

I liked the part when Anne helped the little girl because that was kind and if Anne didn’t help, then the little girl would die.

Was there anything that Abigail did nlt like about the book?

I don’t like the part where Anne’s an orphan because then you don’t have parents and you don’t have a real home.

So, how did Abigail rate Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maude Montgomery?

She gave it five out of five dolphins.

Did You Know? Anne of Green Gables

Well, I'm sorry this post is a little late. My laptop is not liking Blogger today. It won't let me type a post. I finally had the bright idea of switching to our main computer, and it's not giving me any trouble at all.

Anyway, I wanted to give you all a heads up that I won't be posting tomorrow, because I have an officer's meeting at work tomorrow night. We'll learn what Christian's reading on Thursday.

This week's Did You Know? is all about Anne of Green Gables and author Lucy Maude Montgomery. So, enough of this cheerful banter, bring forth the fun facts!





Did You Know?

• Anne of Green Gables was popular from the start, selling 19,000 copies in the first five months after its release in 1908?
• It went through ten printings in its first year, and was translated into Swedish in 1909?
• L.M. Montgomery wrote seven sequels? The eight Green Gables books that Montgomery wrote trace  Anne's life from age 11 to 53.
• The Green Gables house and farm are real? It is located in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.
• The book was originally considered a book for all ages, but over the last 40 years or so has come to be regarded as a children's book?
• The book is very popular in Japan, and many Japanese couples come to the Green Gables farm to be married?
• L.M. Montgomery was first published in 1889 when she was 14?
• Montgomery's grandfather, Donald Montgomery, was a member of the Canadian Senate?
• When she was five or six, Montgomery nearly died of typhoid fever? Perhaps that's why the disease plays such a prominent role in the book.
• Montgomery always wanted to be a writer, and wanted to write something that would live beyond her? I think she succeeded nicely, don't you?
 

Monday Interview Series: Anne Shirley

This week, I'm particularly pleased to introduce a very special guest, Miss. Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables fame. So, let's get right to the interview.

Greg:  Welcome, Anne. I'm so glad you could come down from Prince Edward Island to join us.



Anne:  Thank you for having me, I'm sure. It is most exhilarating to be here.

Greg:  Yes, I'm sure. I gather that you had a very difficult early life. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Anne:  No more difficult than the next person, I shouldn't think. I was born in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia, but my parents died of typhoid fever when I was only three months old, leaving me all alone in the world. My parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley were both schoolteachers, a source of great pride for me. I would like to follow in their footsteps, and have endeavored to do so.

I was taken in by our housekeeper, Mrs. Thomas. But when Mr. Thomas died, Mrs. Thomas sent me to the Hammonds, where I looked after their three sets of twins. I have ever been cursed by twins, you know. But when Mr. Hammond died--my, an awful lot of people that I know seemed to have died, come to think of it--Mrs. Hammond packed all the twins off to relatives and packed me off to an orphanage on Prince Edward Island.

I spent some bit of time at the orphanage, but was taken in by siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Unfortunately, and nearly tragically, there was a slight misunderstanding that nearly sent me back to the orphanage.

Greg:  Oh my, what was the problem?

Anne:  Well, Matthew and Marilla were under the impression that the orphanage was sending them a boy. You can imagine Matthew's surprise when he saw a freckle faced red haired girl waiting anxiously for him at the train station.

Matthew picked me up and brought me to their farm, Green Gables. I liked Matthew from the very start, and I believe he liked me. He was so kind and gentle spoken. A prince among men.

Marilla Cuthbert was made of sterner stuff. She frightened me. She was all about manners and religion and being proper, and she wanted no part of a girl on the farm. But oh, how I wanted to stay. Green Gables was just so perfect. I needed a knight in shining armor riding a white horse to come charging over the hill and save the day. And do you know what? My shining knight came.

Greg:  Really? Who was your shining knight?