by Kallie George
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Since Anne of Green Gables came out of copyright and into the public domain there has been a multitude of children's books and 'inspired by' texts to peruse. I have yet to find one that I feel embodies or moves the Anne of Green Gables legacy forward in a meaningful manner.
As a born and raised Canadian, whose got family members buried not 15km away from Anne's house on Prince Edward Island (although I live in the West), I have a bit of a protective 'mama bear' attitude towards L.M. Montgomery and Anne. I totally understand that like so many classic children's/middle grade books many of us have fond memories of Anne and her travels. But we weren't five years old when those memories began; and yet they keep publishing board/children's books about Anne even though it's much too young for full exposure.
Let's face it, the nostalgia factor for the parent means nothing to a small child. This story abut Anne could be about any girl of any name and it would still be: boring, insignificant, and underwhelming. At the age group this is targeted at we are much better off having books about animals, social responsibility, morals, etc. We are deluding ourselves if we think any children under 7 think some random redheaded girl is important (unless her name is Merida).
I think we should preserve Anne for the middle-grade group of children. Allow them to peruse the novel(s) the same as we did at the age. I do not believe there is a need for an introduction to Anne earlier than that. This book is just fluff.
While the illustrations are gorgeous, and the verse kind of cute, this just doesn't do it for me. Funny enough my middle name is Ann (without an E) and I remember telling my Mom how disappointed I was in her choice of spelling (I'm told my relatives didn't have an E on their name). It's funny now, but I can't even imagine if I had been obsessed with Anne at an earlier age than 8 as I might not have understood that how you spell a name is irrelevant at the end of the day. So I recommend you don't give any girls named Ann (without an E) a complex and find something a little more educational for your little ones for story time. Provide Anne at the right age so they can love her like we all do.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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As a born and raised Canadian, whose got family members buried not 15km away from Anne's house on Prince Edward Island (although I live in the West), I have a bit of a protective 'mama bear' attitude towards L.M. Montgomery and Anne. I totally understand that like so many classic children's/middle grade books many of us have fond memories of Anne and her travels. But we weren't five years old when those memories began; and yet they keep publishing board/children's books about Anne even though it's much too young for full exposure.
Let's face it, the nostalgia factor for the parent means nothing to a small child. This story abut Anne could be about any girl of any name and it would still be: boring, insignificant, and underwhelming. At the age group this is targeted at we are much better off having books about animals, social responsibility, morals, etc. We are deluding ourselves if we think any children under 7 think some random redheaded girl is important (unless her name is Merida).
I think we should preserve Anne for the middle-grade group of children. Allow them to peruse the novel(s) the same as we did at the age. I do not believe there is a need for an introduction to Anne earlier than that. This book is just fluff.
While the illustrations are gorgeous, and the verse kind of cute, this just doesn't do it for me. Funny enough my middle name is Ann (without an E) and I remember telling my Mom how disappointed I was in her choice of spelling (I'm told my relatives didn't have an E on their name). It's funny now, but I can't even imagine if I had been obsessed with Anne at an earlier age than 8 as I might not have understood that how you spell a name is irrelevant at the end of the day. So I recommend you don't give any girls named Ann (without an E) a complex and find something a little more educational for your little ones for story time. Provide Anne at the right age so they can love her like we all do.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Follow me on Goodreads
1 comment:
I don't really have a connection to Anne (still need to read those books!) but I think this thing about parents 'pushing' their nostalgia onto their children will be a problem for hour generation as well - I'm thinking Harry Potter...'we' grow up along with the books, I was around ten when it started, and the last book came out by the time a graduated highschool. But when do you start kids on the books now that everything is out? The ten year olds can't stomach the darkness of the later books, and the sixteen year old might scoff at the earlier books as childish...
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