If all were to go swimmingly…

I love Anne of Green Gables.  That’s the person, not the book.  Of course I love the book too, I really just love Anne.  We’re kin.  Bosom friends, kindred spirits, all of that.

I have read the whole Anne series, and also the collections of short stories, however, one that really touched me was Rainbow Valley.

I wouldn’t really be that surprised if you’ve never heard of Rainbow Valley. It’s pretty deep in the series, and the main character is no longer Anne, but rather, Rilla.

Walter, dear Walter, also plays an important role.

You might consider this one sort of a throwback, but I have always considered it a classic. I am half Canadian though, I’ll admit.

I have read the whole series a couple of times, but Rainbow Valley pulled and tugged and stretched at my heart strings in a way that few books do. I don’t often cry–well, I sometimes cry while reading, but not allll the time, and I cried during this one.

War is a very difficult thing to write about, particularly in a way that is educational, inspirational, poetic, and painful, yet fictionalized.  I’m no expert, but I found this World War I depiction to be very well done.

Lucy Maud, as I’ve decided to call her for this one, crafts characters in a way that many authors cannot. She also crafts stories that are ridiculously readable. You and your daughter, or your friend, or your grandmother, or your students, can read the whole series start to finish in a week. I swear it as I swear that Anne’s hair is as red as carrots.

Are carrots really red?

I sometimes wonder if I would be a writer if Anne of Green Gables, again the person, was not. She had ideas, she had dreams, and then those dreams did not work out. She ended up winning a contest for flour–or was it baking soda? that she was embarrassed by.  It’s a good lesson. She was reaching for the sky with all her might, and she didn’t get what she wanted, but in the end, she may have gotten more.

Rilla, Gilbert, Marilla, Matthew, Mrs. Lynde (Oh, that woman!), Diana, and Walter, oh, Walter.  If you liked Anne, I suggest you read the whole series through to Rainbow Valley.

Watch this video for inspiration.  It made me smile!