Or something.
At our first summer vacation trip to the library, Sammy, my oldest daughter, informed me that one of her friends at school was reading the simplified version of Anne of Green Gables, and she wanted to try it out.
My first reaction was mixed. Simplified? Ick. That's like saying you wanted to eat some dark chocolate, but on second thought, make it white.
On the other hand, Sammy knows I have always loved Anne and her creator. To have her mention the idea of checking out such a book was likely an attempt to win favor with Mom (yeah, it worked). I couldn't deny that it was tantalizing to think that my almost fifth grader (FREAK! My SECOND child is really that old?) might actually find a love of Anne and L. M. Montgomery.We searched the library shelves and did indeed find a simplified version of Anne and checked it out. Sammy spent the next couple of days glued to it. She'd come in and show off how far she was into it. Then I'd gush to her about the story, she'd tell me her favorite parts, and I'd ask if she liked it when such-and-such happened (since, you know, I have the thing nearly memorized).
She'd look at me a bit confused. "That never happened." And then she'd realize that her simplified version had cut out that part. And that part. And that part, too. Annoyed, she decided that after reading the easy version, she'd need to read the REAL one.
To ease her way into it, though (because the "real" one is significantly longer, with tiny text compared to the easy version), I showed her the movie. She's watched the whole, rather lengthy thing several times on her own, curled on the couch with her little sister. And I walk by, laughing at certain spots. We talk about the movie and the book and our favorite parts.
She's read about five chapters of the real book now. It's harder for her to get through, no doubt. She's asked if maybe I'd use it for our bedtime reading instead of her reading it herself.
But when she was making a list of her favorite books the other day, the first one on her list was Anne of Green Gables.
Ever since she was born, I've been waiting for the day when I could lend her my LMM books, then cross my fingers and hope she could find a little joy in them like I do. The day has finally come.
Woohoo! I've created a Maud fan!
5 comments:
You have done well, bringing another member into the cult (um, I mean group. Yeah, that's it. Group.) You shall be rewarded.
Ahh, yes, it is such a satisfying experience. Congratulations! Just wait until she's old enough to read your work. That's even cooler, in a way. Christian saw me in a whole new light after he read Shannon's Mirror.
Oh, you are so lucky. I spawned four children and not a one of them have much interest (tolerance) for fantasy/science fiction (my fav genre). Except for Harry Potter and the occasional hot book their friends are reading. It is heartbreaking...
Another Anne fan--congrats! I loved Gilbert in the movie (sigh) Hmmm. It's somehow always about the guys, isn't it?
Pretty soon she'll be reading your books!
I kept my childhood hardbound copy of three of the Anne books for my daughter. She read them last summer, loved them, and then read the others in the series. It makes a mother proud!
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