Pollyanna Book

Pollyanna is an interesting book. It was published only four years after Anne of Green Gables, and both stories have a similar storyline: a plucky, young girl of eleven or so is orphaned and has nowhere to go. Both Pollyanna and Anne struggle with their appearance and both are received in a lackluster way, by new caregivers who aren't sure they really want them.

Both girls also work their magic by having a sort of unflagging optimism that turns the stingy hearts of others around them.

But, after about three chapters in, my 11-year-old turned to me and said, “Mom, did this author copy Anne of Green Gables?” And, I must admit, I was wondering the same thing.

There are some differences in the storylines. . . Pollyanna is more known for her “optimistic thinking” and her “Just Be Glad” game, where you quickly try to improve negative thinking by using the mindset that you should “just be glad that. . . "

Anne is better known for her poetic proclamations of natural beauty and her imagination.

The middle of the story finally won us over, and we stopped making comparisons to Anne, but then the tidy ending irked me and we settled on a 3.5/4.

My daughter summed up this middle grades read rather nicely, by saying in her new, prepubescent tone, “Mom, I'm glad we read it, but Anne of Green Gables is way better than this one.”