Sunday, August 17, 2008

Taking a Second Look

The old, classic Anne of Green Gables books (there are seven sequels) are still in many children's collections, although they don't hold the central place they once did. Nonetheless they have inspired generations of girls, especially in Canada, where their author lived, and Japan, where they were overwhelmingly popular. It was the Japanese who made Prince Edward Island, the setting for the book, into a popular tourist destination. This year is the centennial of Anne's appearance on the book scene and the N.Y. Times today reviews a new biography of the author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Few librarians will be surprised to learn that Montgomery was a dedicated professional writer rather than a nice lady who sat down to write a children's book, as so many people think children's authors are. This new book "Looking for Anne of Green Gables" by Irene Gammel, uses Montgomery's journals and notebooks to show how ambitious she was. Lucy Maud would probably not appreciate being called a Pioner of Chick-Lit, but the book should be interesting reading for many of us fans of children's literature.

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