Anne of Green Gables

The story of Anne of Green Gables is a classic and one that is loved by many. I grew up as a child reading the abridged version and watching the movies with my family. I think it's almost impossible not to fall in love with this story.  

Anne of Green Gables tells the story of bother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert who decide to adopt a boy to help Matthew on the farm. Through an interesting mistake, Anne Shirley is sent instead. Despite that fact that she's a girl, they decide to keep her, and their life instantly becomes more interesting and exciting than they ever thought possible. Anne is imaginative, impulsive, loquacious, and totally unique. Readers can't help but fall in love with her as they watch her go through different blunders and trials. 

Some of my favorite parts of the story include Anne's first encounter with Gilbert Blythe. Anne always had a stigma against her red hair, and during her first day of class, Gilbert while attempting to get her attention called her Carrots and pulled on one of her braids. Without a second thought, she jumped up and slammed her slate across his head. From that day on until the end of the book, she vowed to never speak to him or even of him again. 

Another favorite part was when Anne accidentally dyed her hair green in an attempt to dye it black. It was the worst color ever and in the end she had to chop most of her hair off. After the incident though, she found that she loved having red hair rather than green, and it cured of some of her vanity. 

This novel is a wonderful book for girls in middle school to read, or as a story to be read to younger girls. The story of Anne is entertaining and many girl can easily relate to the different experiences Anne goes through, despite the different time periods. Anne shows girls how to deal with different situations, and how to learn from them. 

I love in the unabridged version that you can see how flowery Anne speaks. She describes things in more words than you thought was possible, and you can see how her train of thought changes from one subject to another so quickly. Girls can so easily relate to this because girls love to talk, and we often switch subjects just as quickly as Anne does. 

In the classroom, I would use Anne of Green Gables to inspire students to write about their own blunders or crazy situations that they have managed to get themselves into. I also would do a writing activity where they come up with imaginative stories about a simple place, item, or piece of nature and expand on it, like Anne often does. There's so much to Anne's story, and each chapter tells a mini story. 

There are several books following Anne of Green Gables. This little clip shows just some of the trials Anne experienced, although it features scenes from all of the movies, Anne herself always is some sort of trouble, and these highlight some of the best ones.