Review: Pollyanna by Eleanor H Porter

Almost everyone has heard of Pollyanna. She's the sunshine queen, always ready to play the Glad Game. When Pollyanna is orphaned she goes to live with her aunt Polly. Though Pollyanna loves her aunt from the second they meet, Aunt Polly takes a bit of time to warm up to her bubbly niece. It takes an near fatal accident to show Aunt Polly how much the little girl means to her.



This book is a definite 5 star!

1: This book is a classic for kids of all ages. I was fifteen or sixteen the first time I read it. Although it is written in the style of most book for this age group written around this time period such as The Railway Children and What Katy Did, I didn't find the simplicity to take away from the storyline. In fact, it rather enhanced Pollyanna's own simple love and faith.

2: Aunt Polly is far and away one of my favorite characters in children's literature. Her tough outer shell is softened bit by bit, and her backstory is told in a way that children can understand, although lost love isn't often a theme in their lit.

3: I find that I play the Glad Game myself sometimes. It is quite a picker-upper when you're down in the dumps!

4: I love how each of the characters are unique, not only in personality, but also in perspective. While Old Tom remembers when Miss Polly was young and doesn't judge her present behavior as harshly, Nancy is quick to condemn the seeming hardness of Miss Polly's actions.

5: The whole story had a beautiful ending for all of the characters and I do recommend reading the sequel Pollyanna Grows Up. It sheds some light on a few shadows and also continues the story for other characters. Warning though... You might need some tissues for the second one. I know I did!

I wrote that a while back, and left it as a draft for later. You can get Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up as free ebooks. Yesterday I listened to the unabridged Pollyanna audiobook, and it was so incredible that I decided today was the day to post this one. (Also, I forced an almost promise from my best friend to read the unabridged version.) This is not my best written review, but I hope you see my love for Pollyanna.