Yesterday at the pool, Sophie said to me, “Did pools exist in Anne’s time? I can just imagine Anne teasing Marilla to let her and Diana go to the pool together.”
Yes, we have entered the time of Green Gables, of perhaps my favorite series in literature of all time. I don’t think I can possibly overestimate the number of times I’ve read those books (and all the others: Pat of Silver Bush, Magic for Marigold, Emily of New Moon, and so many more) or the number of hours I’ve spent in the worlds L.M. Montgomery created. It is safe to say, however, that I wouldn’t be who I am today if not for all those hours and the incredible influence they had on me.
Perhaps surprisingly, I was really reluctant to introduce the girls to the books. After a few misfires (we only got through the opening chapters of A Little Princess before her father died and all bets were off), I realized how delicate an operation this can be. I was a precocious reader, often devouring books I didn’t quite understand and forming attachments at a younger age than many, so I try not to use my own timeline as a litmus test. Since the Anne books especially are so important to me, I was really afraid of “doing it wrong.” I also didn’t want the girls to know just how important they were to me, so that they wouldn’t feel they had to fake enthusiasm for the books just to please me. I want their connection to the stories to be authentic, whether they enjoyed them or not.
So when a friend said her daughter had listened to Anne of Green Gables on CD and loved it, I thought maybe we were at the right age. I let the girls borrow it, told them I had really loved it when I was younger, and let them listen to the first few chapters by themselves in their rooms around bedtime. One afternoon, we were talking about a friend of theirs, Annie, and Sophie said, “Do you think she spells it with an “e” like Anne Shirley? I know it’s really important to Anne Shirley.” I can’t tell you the thrill that ran through me, but I think Anne would understand.
I think Sophie especially–my tenderhearted, chatterbox, cat-curious dreamy Sophie–has fallen most deeply in love with Anne’s world. One reason I spent so much time visiting Prince Edward Island in my mind was a need for companionship and respite that wasn’t always filled in my childhood, and I don’t think the books will serve the same purpose for her (I hope). But I do think she has found a redheaded kindred spirit, and I know the values of kindness, family, community, loyalty, creativity, faith and love she will find there will serve her well for the rest of her life, the way they have for me.
