Anne of Avonlea

"Perhaps she had not succeeded in 'inspiring' any wonderful ambitions in her pupils, but she had taught them, more by her own sweet personality than by all her careful precepts, that it was good and necessary in the years that were before them to live their lives finely and graciously, holding fast to truth and courtesy and kindness, keeping aloof from all that savoured of falsehood and meanness and vulgarity. They were, perhaps, all unconscious of having learned such lessons; but they would remember and practice them long after they had forgotten the capital of Afghanistan and the dates of the Wars of the Roses."

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

In the second book, Anne is no longer the student: she has become the teacher, and she pours her soul into it, as she does with everything.  She is home to help Marilla with their two new additions: twins Davy and Dora.  She also makes several new friends, who keep life interesting and full of love and imagination.

A wonderful read.  I love watching Anne grow up.

Anne of Green Gables

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Good heavens, how could I have never known Anne of Green Gables?  I have never read this book and I can't imagine how or why!  The only comfort I have in waiting so long is that I have now had such a fun treasure in my twenties that I never knew about!

When Mary saw I was reading this she asked me, "Have you come to kindred spirits yet?"  :)  What a delightful term for those people we all hold near!

I just love this book - it went right along with happy people living in mountains and now on islands!  Anne is so wonderfully endearing I understand exactly why she has become so well known over the years.  Perhaps I love her most because she always has such great intentions.  She is such a fun protagonist.

To start the series, Anne leaves an orphanage to live with a brother and sister (Matthew and Marilla) in Green Gables.  They had planned on a boy, but feel so badly for Anne that the keep her.  Over time, they come to love Anne, in spite of (or maybe because of) her many incidents and accidents.  It is a beautiful, rich story.  I will undoubtedly read this again and again (books 2-7 are on my library counter to read right away!)

LOVED this.

Double Dutch

Double Dutch by Sharon M. Draper

About five years ago my youngest sister, Tiny, received double dutch ropes for her birthday and we spent many hours learning to jump.  It became almost standard that every night that summer we pulled them out and worked on transitioning in and out smoothly as well as tricks; all my little sisters are dancers so we worked on things like holding your foot by your head while jumping, toe touches upon entering the ropes, etc.  It was a grand time.

It should come as no surprise, then, that when I saw a book about double dutch I snagged it.  I rented the audiobook version to pass the time on my daily commute more quickly and was hopeful that I would be swallowed up in the world of double dutch, learning new tricks and terms to share with my sisters.  Sadly, I didn't love it.  The main characters did double dutch together, but the book wasn't about double dutch.  It may be my expectations that ruined it for me; there was a good storyline about literacy and poverty and friendship that was nice, but as a reader that hoped for hard core double dutch (is there such a thing?) I walked away disappointed.

Oh, and one thing that tells you a little bit about me: it was very difficult for me to listen to this book and not know how the character's names were spelled!  This was my first discovery that when reading I really do see words rather than always hear them (as I know some readers do).

Overall, a mediocre read about a young girl struggling with literacy and a young boy struggling with poverty and the lengths they go to figuring both out. 

Hattie Big Sky

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

I found Hattie Big Sky on a list of Janssen's favorite books (see the list of her book index here) and picked it up at the library simply based on the catchy title (I would submit that readers absolutely judge books by the cover...and the title and the author, etc.)  This book was so intriguing, delightful, heartbreaking and enjoyable; I can absolutely understand why it merited a Newbery Honor.

Hattie is a young (16-year-old) girl who was orphaned early in life and has been tossed from relative to relative for as long as she can remember.  While living with distant relatives that she calls aunt and uncle, she receives a letter from a Perilee in Montana.  Perilee has sent a letter from Hattie's now deceased uncle inviting her to Montana, to take over his plot of 320 acres and his house if she's interested.  Without much thought she packs her single bag, boards the train with her cat (a delightful character) and heads out to Montana, where she finds her "house" is a clapboard 9' x 12' shack in the midst of very difficult terrain.

Over the next year you'll watch anxiously as Hattie works to "prove up" her plot of land, building a whole lot of fence and planting her crops for the harvest.  Along the way she becomes genuine friends with characters she did not initially anticipate loving and she learns a lot about what makes a person truly good. 

I really enjoyed learning more about homesteading, farming (which I have not learned a lick about through life experiences) and WWI (which I am deeply grateful for not living through).  My heart hurt with Hattie as she struggled through difficulties and I was so excited for every little victory she achieved along the way.  A worthwhile read.