Out of the Woods by Rebecca Bond

A story about a wildfire in Northern Ontario. 

A story about creatures, both human and animals, coming together in their common fear.

Lovely illustrations!

Antonio Willie Giroux (a great name if ever there was one) lived with his mother who ran a boarding house on the edge of a lake in rural Ontario. 

It was a pretty great life for a kid--so much to see, so many people to dote on him and teach him how to do things. 

The second floor was full of sportsmen come to do some hunting and fishing. 

The top floor was filled with the French Canadians working in the nearby timber harvesting outfits. Willie loved spending time up there listening to words in French, English, and several different Native American languages. 

One summer day, smoke came out of the woods and threatened their lives. 

As the fire edged closer, people crowded into the lake for safety. 

And as it got even closer, wild animals fled from the woods into the lake with the humans. 

And they all stood together, uncommon companions, watching the fire rage by them. Somehow in their common fear, predators did not attack prey, but somehow understood that this situation was beyond the realm of their conventional relationship. 

By some miracle, the hotel did not burn down. So they crept back after the fire, remembering the moment they stood shoulder to haunch with the wild things of the forest. 

Anne Arrives by Kallie George and Illus by Abigail Halpin

I was a little skeptical of this book. I mean how can you distill LM Montgomery into a short little picture book? 

BUT it really only handles a chapter or two per book (because other books are in the works!), so it isn't wildly condensed.

And it is illustrated by Abigail Halpin who happens to be a favorite of mine.

End papers

Floral borders are the best.

Wild roses and Mrs. Lynde puzzling over Matthews unprecedented trip to Carmondy in the middle of the day. 

Rachel Lynde going over to grill Marilla about circumstances. 

Anne waiting patiently.

The thing about favorite books being turned into illustrated versions is things do not always look exactly how they look in your head. The White Way of Delight looked differently. And it wasn't sunset yet. 

I feel like I need to reread this just so I can see if I was missing some details. Because that is entirely possible. 

Discussing the burden of red hair.

Disappointment.

Communing with the Snow Queen outside her window.

Anne determined to be happy even though she was being sent back.

The red roads of Prince Edward Island

And then the delight of staying and getting to name the geranium on the window sill.

Mrs. Lynde receiving mortal offense. 

Anne in high dudgeon. 

Anne, crowned and boqueted with wildflowers. 

Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery

Since we were talking about magic, I thought I might as well trot out Emily of New Moon. 

LM Montgomery has always tended toward magic and the unexplained. While that tendency is kept in check through most of her books, it peeks out every once in awhile. Emily of New Moon is one of those times. 

(This is a newer edition of the book, but I really like the cover. I think it is my favorite of the ones I own.)

Since Emily is an orphan sent away to live with elderly relatives on a farm, people sometimes think Emily and Anne are pretty similar. But Emily is supposedly more autobiographical, and is definitely a few shades darker than Anne ever got. Situations for Emily were not as sure to end well as they did for Anne. 

(This was the cover that we got when I was a teen--mid 1990's.)

Of course, there are other differences between the two books as well--Emily lived with her father until she was 8-10. So she had sweet memories to sustain her when her relatives didn't understand her and her poetic flights of fancy. Similarly, she also was grieving on a level Anne never got to since Anne couldn't remember her parent's death. 

But similarly, Emily settles into her new life, just like Anne, with a close friend or two; austere older relatives who soften up and love her; and an imaginative, poetic mind. 

The difference is that the ending here has a deeper level of magic than any of Anne's experiences. A fevered hallucination brings a long unsolved mystery to a close. 

I would say I like Anne better, but Emily is more relateable in many ways. So.... both are definitely worth reading! 

Anything by LM Mongomery is worth reading though, so that's not surprising. 

(This cover was the first one I read, probably early/mid-1980's.)

I took these picture last summer (why am I so bad at getting posts up on time?!) and I MISS wildflowers. We have three inches of fresh snow from last night..... Spring IS coming. We had a day in the 50s this week, so we are getting closer! 

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery

This book. This BOOK. Both of my parents loved this book, so it has always been around. And when I read it as a young teen, I fell instantly in love with Valancy and Barney and Barney's cabin in the Ontario wilderness. 

It was one of the first love stories I ever read, so it ended up being a definitive romance. Every story since has been measured up against Valancy and Bernard. I know, I know. NOT romantic names. But they can't be blamed for what their parents called them. 

(Also, wild roses. I took these pictures last June, but never got it posted. Oh for wild rose days! They will be here soon, I guess. But this part of winter always seems to drag....)

Valancy is a sheltered spinster of 29, Bernard the local suspicious person who doesn't care what anyone else thinks. Not caring about what other people thinks in rural Ontario in the early 1900s was a pretty dire statement on someone's character. Clearly a person to steer clear of.  

After Valancy goes to the doctor for a chest pain and finds she has a terminal condition, she flouts her family's expectation and goes to care for a local, unwed mother. While there, she meets Bernard who comes to visit the lonely girl. Bernard is interesting in a way her family never was. Eventually, with a return to her family's home in the offing, Valancy goes to Bernard and proposes to him. She tells him of her terminal condition, which means he would not have to be married for ever. She argues they get along well and she could take care of his house, so why not? Why not indeed?

Much to her family's consternation, Valancy goes junketing off as Bernard's new wife. 

And of course, in the misty, purple evenings on a tiny island in a lake in Ontario, Bernard and Valancy become the best of friends and slowly begin to realize they are in love.

A little melodramatic, but oh! Going against society, finding a kindred spirit, a private island no matter how tiny, and a dramatic ending---how could I not love this book? 

There are times in this book that Lucy Maud talks a little too much. Some of the family chatter at the beginning seems a bit excessive. But it is entirely worthwhile to overlook these minor flaws. 

If you haven't already read this, give yourself a treat and do so. If you have already read it, give yourself another treat and read it over. I think I have read it about ten times.  

Kilmeny of the Orchard by LM Montgomery

LM Montgomery, while I love her dearly, can be a teensy weensy bit melodramatic. This book is where she showcases all her mad melodramatic skills. 

The book is told from the point of view of the man you see brooding in the background on the cover, which is somewhat unusual for LM Montgomery. Eric Marshall has just graduated from college and is at a loose end before going to work for his millionaire father. A friend needs a break, so asks Eric to substitute teach for him for a month on PEI in a small town named Lindsay. 

And wouldn't you know it, Eric goes and falls in love with the one impossible girl in Lindsay. Kilmeny Gordon has never been out in public and has never spoken. Her mother decided her own personal beauty was a terrible burden, so decided Kilmeny should stay out of the public eye for fear she would realize she is beautiful. There is a complicated backstory to her mother, which you learn through the book. It is sad, dark, and mildly insane. LM Montgomery was never afraid to bring a little dark into her writing. 

Kilmeny can play violin like magic, is incredibly beautiful, and totally innocent due to her lack of contact with the outside world. One thing I don't exactly like is that Kilmeny's worth is definitely dependent on her beauty. Eric is a millionaires son. Falling in love with a poor girl from a rural PEI town is not really part of his millionaire father's life plan for Eric. Eric tells his father and anyone else who questions his choice of girl "Just wait until you see Kilmeny." Not interact with her and enjoy her wit, but just observe her beauty; that will justify my choice of woman. Kilmeny has a lot of great characteristics, so she is not some vapid beauty. Eric appreciates her musical talent, her wit, her intelligence, her pleasure in life, but it is her beauty that he keeps mentioning. 

There are occasions when stereotypes are brought into LM Montgomery's works, and this is one of them. Kilmeny has an adopted brother-ish sort of person who happens to be Italian. The poor guy is forever being irrational, brooding, and passionate. Because that is how Italians are apparently. At least in 1910's PEI. 

So Kilmeny of the Orchard is melodramatic, somewhat shallow, and stereotypical. If you read this book with a modern sensibility, you will likely roll your eyes. However, most people come to this book after Anne or Emily and already adore LM Montgomery, so they will love this book based on that fact alone. And really, for this time and in this place, the sensibilities in this book are pretty representative.

And guess what? I love this book. I can't take it seriously, but this was one of my first ever LM Montgomery books. (It just so happens this is her shortest novel.) I listened to Anne when I was very little, so loved her, then read this when I was too young to tackle of book of Anne's length, but wanted more LM Montgomery. So I love this book for sentimental reasons. Plus, I was much more melodramatic as a nine year old or whatever I was when I read this. So I probably didn't roll my eyes at all. 

There is poetry in this book, lyrical descriptions of PEI in May, and an overall happy ending. And, it is by LM MONTGOMERY, for crying out loud. So you can do a lot worse. Just don't think you will find LM Montgomery's clever, biting wit or hilarious situations. 

Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery

I have had this post sitting around for awhile, needing words. Like two years. Turns out that writing about one of your favorite books in ALL THE WORLD is difficult. I mean, where do you begin? The writing. The setting. The characters. The timelessness. The Canadianness. The marvelousness.  And quotes--LM Montgomery's writing is so marvelous it just demands to be quoted. But where to start? 

There is simply too much. 

However, this week, I have been enjoying the #12daysofannestagram pictures up. So fun! 

So I decided to get it together and do my own week of Anne. Or rather LM Montgomery. 

There are a lot of very beautiful editions of Anne of Green Gables nowadays. Every once in awhile, I am tempted to buy one. 

   

But I am a sucker for sets. I don't want a beautifully illustrated book and 6 other books that don't match the first. 

For sheer color, this set is hard to beat.  

These are my current favorites. These are by Elly McKay, a Canadian artist. It is all cut paper that she arranges just so and photographs. Or at least that is what I understand of her process. That Rainbow Valley cover!! And Windy Poplars and House of Dreams. I just really want these ones so I can look at them more closely. 

When it really comes down to it, I kind of like the one I first read, this orange-y colored 1980's edition. Familiarity. And I happen to already own the entire set. Some day when I become rich, I might buy a beautiful set. For now, I only glance at the cover and dive into the words, so the cover isn't overly important. But having beautiful things is important. So someday.... 

Still, I wonder if I will always associate this beat up, unbeautiful cover with the delight and rapture of a first time reading of Anne....

Anne is delightful. She is fierce. Imaginative. Delighted with life. Longing for all the right things. Sees all the right things. 

There are so many different reasons to love Anne. Her fierce independence, her determination, her imagination, her ability to see magic where everyone else sees the prosaic, her passion, her poetry, her fanciful fairy world.... So much to love! I love Anne the most fiercely for her ability to see magic where everyone else sees the prosaic. 

Anne loves the world around her. She can see beauty and mystery in walking across a cow pasture. I love, love, love that about her. Because that is how I want to see the world. I want to be amazed by all the incredibleness of everyday things. Because how marvelous to be delighted by the things that are right around you! How dreary to have to travel great distances to be amazed. I am all for traveling great distances too. But I expect to be just as entranced by the new place as I was at home. 

If you can find wonder in the way the sunlight hits the drops of dew on the front lawn in the early morning or the endless shades of blue in a ripening blueberry, life will never be mundane. 

Anne carried her own bit of wonder with her. She could pull it out at will to escape from her hard childhood or wander into it in daydreams to enhance the present. I love Anne for teaching me to see the poetry in the way the light falls through the maple leaves onto the lawn and to thrill to the wildness of birch leaves turned upside down and silver just before a storm. 

Anne of Green Gables one hundred and ten years old this month. And it still feels fresh to me. Sure, there are some outdated references to heathens and the French Canadians, but mostly, it is the story of a young girl making the best of the difficult hand she was dealt. The story of a young girl finding the beauty and potential in every situation. 

And I will always, always think of Anne when I pick apple blossoms and carry them inside. Of Marilla grumbling about the petals falling everywhere while Anne is in raptures about the magnificence and generosity of apple trees in giving us blossoms so freely and lavishly. 

Oh Anne.