Anyone who knows me well knows that one of my favorite childhood books was Anne of Green Gables. I actually love the entire series. My obsession started when I saw the first two Megan Follows/Jonathan Crombie movies for the first time. I was probably about 6. From then on, Gilbert Blythe became my dream guy. My appreciation for Anne of Green Gables increased when I learned L. M. Mongomery and I share a birthday. For much of my childhood, I reread the whole series every summer. Even up into my early 20s, I would reread the books every few years. I’m not afraid to admit that I may have cried a little when Jonathan Crombie died in 2015. Yet, I realized recently that it’s been about ten years since I read the whole series.
Stepping Back Into the Anne of Green Gables World
About a year ago, I started teaching some online classes which allowed me to combine my love of creative writing with my love of Anne of Green Gables. Teaching about the first book was fun, especially when I had a student who also loved the book and had seen the two movies. We talked about how these two movies are the best adaptations of the books (no, they aren’t perfect, but they capture the stories well). It was fun to be able to discuss this book with someone else who really appreciates it. She was taking the class with two of her friends, who were not nearly as enthusiastic about the book as she was. It was nice to see them support their friend, though.
At the end of the class, the girl’s mom requested that I build a similar class for the next book, Anne of Avonlea. The girl had enjoyed the class so much that she wanted to read the other books and do similar creative writing assignments. She hasn’t taken the class yet, mostly because she wants to take the class with at least one of her friends, and neither one will agree to it. I did teach the class to another girl on her own, though, which meant rereading the book. As I reread and taught the book, I learned some important lessons.
Sometimes You’ve Just Got to Find Your Passion
All these classes are set up so ideally there are 3-5 kids in the class. There’s a lot of discussion. It’s very difficult to talk about a book one-on-one with a student if the student is not passionate about the book. While my Anne of Avonlea class is set up so students don’t have to read Anne of Green Gables first, it is highly recommended that they are at least familiar with the basic storyline. I didn’t realize how important reading the first book was until my student was not at all familiar with Anne of Green Gables. From what I got out of what she said, she was only taking this class because the second book was on a reading list for her school. Getting answers of more than “yes,” “no,” or maybe up to a four-word response was nearly impossible with her.
We Definitely See Miss Lavendar Differently
Then we came to class five of six. By this time, I was eager for the classes to be over. Forcing 50-minute conversations three days a week was getting difficult. Then we met Miss Lavendar. For some context, Miss Lavendar is a 45-year-old “old maid.” When Anne meets her, Miss Lavendar has set out tea for a tea party for six people. The big problem? It’s just Miss Lavendar and her maid/cook/companion, Charlotta the Fourth, whose real name is Leonora. Yes, this 45-year-old woman was going to play tea party with her companion, who she has renamed.
When I asked this girl what she would think of Miss Lavender if she actually met her, the girl said, “I’d think she was a serial killer. She’s really weird.” I had to laugh a little bit. That was the longest answer I’d gotten out of her the whole class up to this point. When I asked her if she thought she’d come to like Miss Lavendar, she said, “No, because I’d run away because she’s a serial killer.” Up to this point, I just saw the lady as imaginative, but now I see where she might get those serial killer vibes from the lady. Thanks a lot! She is not a serial killer, though, just imaginative.
And Her Story
For part of the assignment for the next class, the girl had to rewrite one of the scenes from the chapters we’d read, making the story into a different genre. Any guesses about what genre she chose? Yep, horror. While it wasn’t particularly graphic, it did involve a bloody, decaying lady chasing Anne. Let’s just say I was glad there were no other students in that class. She found her passion, though, and it’s clearly not the type of book we were reading.
To Some People, Adult Imagination = Weird
The student taking my Anne of Avonlea class was fine with the kids having wild imaginations. She was okay with Anne, who’s 16-17 through the book, having a bit of an imagination. Anyone older than that, though, she seemed to think was weird. While she was the most passionate about Miss Lavendar’s weirdness, she did comment on a few other characters.
I Want My Gilbert
It had been a while since I last read Anne of Avonlea. For some reason, I remembered Gilbert playing a significant role in this book. I will admit that I’ve seen the movies way more times than I’ve read the books, so sometimes I get things that happen in the movies confused with things that happen in the books. The second movie, Anne of Avonlea, combines things from the second through the fourth books. While Gilbert isn’t missing entirely from this book, he’s not a huge character. I would have not fallen in love with book Gilbert based on this book. His absence was especially clear because my student knew almost nothing about Gilbert. By the end of the book, I wanted more Gilbert.
The little bits of Gilbert sprinkled throughout the book reminded me how much I like Gilbert. Perhaps, my inability to find my own Gilbert Blythe is part of why I’m 40 and still not married. I’ve set my expectations too high.
I Need to Reread the Whole Anne of Green Gables Series
Rereading Anne of Avonlea has reinforced to me how much I want to reread the entire Anne of Green Gables series. It might take me a while because I still have so many other books that I want to read, but I would like to reread the whole series soon. Rereading the first and second books recently has reinforced to me why I enjoyed these books so much as a child. They have reminded me that I still enjoy them. I just need to reread the whole series, the sooner the better.
