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    Rainbow Valley
    Rainbow Valley
    Rainbow Valley
    Audiobook9 hours

    Rainbow Valley

    Written by Lucy Maud Montgomery

    Narrated by Pam Ward

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Anne Shirley is grown up, has married her beloved Gilbert, and is now the mother of six mischievous children. These boys and girls discover a special place all their own, but they never dream of what will happen when the strangest family moves into an old nearby mansion.

    The Meredith clan is two boys and two girls, with a minister father but no mother-and a runaway girl named Mary Vance. Soon the Meredith kids join Anne's children in their private hideout to carry out their plans to save Mary from the orphanage, to help the lonely minister find happiness, and to keep a pet rooster from the soup pot. There's always an adventure brewing in the sun-dappled world of Rainbow Valley.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateFeb 17, 2011
    ISBN9781452670935
    Author

    Lucy Maud Montgomery

    Lucy Maud Montgomery was born on Prince Edward Island, Canada, in 1874 and raised by her maternal grandparents following her mother's death when she was just two years old. Biographical accounts of her upbringing suggest a strict and rather lonely childhood. She later spent a number of years working as a teacher before turning to journalism and then, ultimately to fiction writing. While Anne of Green Gables was completed in 1905 Montgomery was at first unable to find a publisher for it and - having set it aside for a while - eventually found a champion for it in the Page Company of Boston. Her first novel - and the one which was to prove by far her most successful - was published in 1908 and has remained in print the world over ever since. In creating the uniquely memorable Anne, Montgomery gave the world of classic fiction one of its most enduring heroines.

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    Reviews for Rainbow Valley

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    • 5/5
      To say that I was disappointed with Anne of Ingleside - the sixth book in the Anne Shirley series, by L. M. Montgomery - would be an understatement. My review of that book details why it is my least favorite book in the series that I've read to date. It was with this in mind that I read the seventh book, Rainbow Valley, with some apprehension. I was willing to give it a try, because I was told by some friends how it was MUCH better than the abysmal (to my view) Anne of Ingleside. I can honestly say that, while not nearly as good a read as Anne of Green Gables or Anne of Windy Poplars, it was quite a fun book nonetheless. This book, like the previous one, focuses on the children, the next generation, if you will, with the main difference being that for this book the Blythe children themselves are secondary characters. The “manse children” or the kids of the new Presbyterian minister, who is a widower of a few years are the actual primary protagonists, along with another character that also seems to displace the Blythe children in importance. This other character is a girl named Mary Vance, and boy is she ever a hoot! The minister, John Meredith, has four children, Jerry, Carl, Faith and Una. These children get in so many scrapes reminiscent of what Anne got into in the first two books, but with them it's more because they have no firm hand guiding them. Mr. Meredith often has his head stuck in the clouds, and is very much unable to focus on present concerns. His wife really was a “help meet” for him, to quote Genesis, and without her, he has been lost. The children are not bad, just unsupervised and untaught in the way of decorum or proper manners. The little children meet a young girl who ran away from her foster mother. This girl is, of course, the aforementioned Mary Vance. Her foster-mother, and her own relations before hand, were terribly abusive, and she is starving and in miserable condition as a scared run-away. The manse children take pity on her and help her, right under the nose of their father, who doesn't notice a blooming thing. Of course, the rest of the town notices, and points it out to him eventually. John Meredith investigates, and finds out the foster-mother has since died, and eventually Mary ends up adopted by the least likely people of all.... Mrs. Marshall Eliot, aka, Miss Cornelia, and her husband! The family they make is almost worth the story by itself. There is, of course, romance, as there usually is of some kind in an Anne Shirley book, but I won't get into that too much, as I can see I've spoiled enough already. This book was far superior to the previous one with actual characterization, and wasn't quite as formulaic as the previous two were. It also showed the responsible, moral, and decent sides to Anne and Gilbert that were so visibly lacking in the previous volume. That said, I do have a problem with one aspect of the children. It's just a small criticism, but the scene where little Walter avenges himself on a boy that mocks his mom and his friend, Faith Meredith, and everyone congratulates him for it, bothered me. That is appropriate enough to stand up for yourself. But little Faith acted snotty towards the boy in question, and hurt his feelings, so he retaliated, leading to the fight with Walter. No mention seems to be made of how this was wrong as well. For some reason, it made Walter and Faith like bullies, at least to me. It also seems to teach that sometimes it's good to be mean and snobbish to people, or put them down, if they “deserve it”. Then again, this could just be my admitted pet peeve, as I absolutely DESPISE snobbishness. The foreshadowing of the coming conflict in WWI is here once again. From a character, Ellen West, stating her disdain for the Kaiser of Germany, to the end pages where the boys talk of how they would fight and have grand adventures in some amorphous, fictional war, like in the stories. Here it is done more poetically and yet more somberly, to make a very melancholy, but somehow still satisfying ending. Anne knows her sons' dreams of greatness, and humors them as she reflects that the time of wars is gone. Man is past all of the foolishness, she thinks. She is sadly mistaken, as will be revealed in a few years, with the advent of the Great War. The ending of Rainbow Valley is particularly poignant in this regard, as Montgomery paints a picture of a time of innocence about to end. He (Walter) began to speak dreamily, partly because he wanted to thrill his companions a little, and partly because something apart from him seemed to be speaking through his lips. "The Piper is coming nearer," he said, "he is nearer than he was that evening I saw him before. His long, shadowy cloak is blowing around him. He pipes - he pipes - and we must follow - Jem and Carl and Jerry and I - round and round the world. Listen - listen - can't you hear his wild music?" The girls shivered."You know you're only pretending," protested Mary Vance, "and I wish you wouldn't. You make it too real. I hate that old Piper of yours." But Jem sprang up with a gay laugh. He stood up on a hillock, tall and splendid, with his open brow and fearless eyes. There were thousands like him all over the land of the maple. Let the Piper come and welcome," he cried, waving his hand. "I'LL follow him gladly round and round the world."This part of the book struck a chord with me, perhaps because it was so much more thoughtful and respectfully written than the remonstrances on the subject of the Great War in the previous novel. Or perhaps because I can see myself in these fictional boys, as even as late as my early 20s, I harbored the same silly notions. The silly ideas that these fictional boys have - that all boys and men untouched by war keep, whether they admit it or not - that had to be knocked out of me by experiences. How we need our heroes and adventures! But how disastrous and life-changingly awful it is to us when our adventures are real, and we must be the heroes. Idealism and causes go out the window, to be replaced by cold, hard, unforgiving realities. These fictional boys, like myself and all real-life boys and men who march to drums of battle or of necessity, we all march for adventure that is a shroud of mist quickly dispersed, and to the beat of the Pied Piper whose robes are of the color of Death. War is often necessary in our utterly sinful world until Christ redeems us and Creation at the final hour, but woe to them who yearn for the adventure of it. Our dreams are shattered, and we are left to pick up the pieces. A moving and worthwhile book to read, and one that truly touched my heart.Highly Recommended.

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    • 4/5
      In reading this book, I finally felt like Montgomery had achieved what she set out to accomplish from the first "Anne" book: to weave together a tale of childlike innocence and romantic entanglement. This is done so much better here than it was in the character of young Anne because the two concepts are wisely separated and presented through the story of an endearing young family of children and their absent-minded but easy-to-love widower father. In leaving the romance to the adults and letting the children be children, Montgomery finally achieves what seems like an honest and realistic presentation of hew new characters.On the other hand, Anne herself plays an almost marginal role in the story, being reinjected almost as the presence of the novelist herself, commenting on her sympathies with the other characters. I found her far less likeable in this story than in any of the others, for she seemed largely to have lost her dreaminess in the drudgery of listening to idle adult gossip and engaged in few, if any, other activities throughout the book. It also bothered me that in one scene, she appeared to identify with the imaginative flights of fancy of another character moreso than with her own emotionally wounded daughter.However, Anne's strongest moment in this book is to provide a sense of authorial voice to counter the gossip that so mundanely weighs both the narrative style of this book and the lives of the townspeople down. I was struck over and over in reading this story with the horrifying hypocrisy of the churchgoers and their altogether weak grasp of the theology the Presbyterian church they attended would have, or should have, been teaching. As a mostly life-long Presbyterian myself, I saw the same problems in this turn-of-the-20th-century novel that I see plaguing the mainstream Presbyterian church, and others, today: a sense of tradition, pragmatism, and public opinion prevailing over an actual understanding and practising of Biblical doctrine and wisdom. I felt often in reading this book that if this were meant to be a satire of "the way things are but should not be," the writing was not quite sly enough to pull it off--until Anne made an impassioned speech setting herself apart from such problems. Unfortunately for the characters in the story, her voice of reason didn't really change anything much, a problem that also resonates for many of us who are Christians today. Fortunately, however, Montgomery wraps us ever more fabulously in the cloak of innocence surrounding the Meredith family and how they manage to muddle along just fine, in spite of the ugliness around them.
    • 3/5
      This book focuses more on the children and their neighbors than on Anne. Drudged through this one.
    • 5/5
      Rainbow Valley completes the shift started in Anne of Ingleside, moving the story away from Anne and her family and focusing instead on the new minister's family, the motherless Merediths. Mr. Meredith is a wonderful preacher, but very absent minded in everyday life. The four Meredith children, Jerry, Faith, Una, and Carl, are at the mercy of their doddering Aunt Margaret, who is really too old and blind to run the manse properly. The Meredith children often go without rather than ask their beloved father for anything, and after their doings scandalize the Glen they form a club for bringing themselves up, "since there is no one else to do it." Mary Vance is also introduced in this story, and she quickly becomes with the reader what she is to her set: a habit we can't get along without. She is an abused orphan who runs away from her mistress and lands in the manse with the Merediths. Her spicy tongue soon leads to trouble, as little Una believes everything Mary says... even regarding ghost stories and the inevitable cruelty of stepmothers. Throughout the story Mary voices a lot of stark theological misconceptions common to unloved, unwanted children. The children, left to figure out these problems themselves from their innocent observation of the people around them, always do so in a way consistent with their characters. The story is all the stronger for it.Norman Douglas is another favorite character who makes his first blustering appearance in this story. He is absolutely hilarious, the old pagan. The scene where Faith tells him off is so much fun! And I've always liked the love story subplots in this book — so very different, both sweet and hilarious. Ellen is fascinating. It's interesting that she is proven so right about the Kaiser of Germany, when the men in the story disagree with her political opinions on that score. We get hints of what is coming in Rilla of Ingleside with the Great War. The last chapter has the strongest foreshadowing, with Walter seeing a vision of the Piper who will call the boys of his generation and pipe them round the world. Rainbow Valley is one of my favorites among the series, despite the fact that Anne is a minor character. The Merediths are lovable and their adventures fresh and entertaining. I used to think that Anne of Green Gables and Rilla of Ingleside were my top favorites, but I'm not so sure that Rainbow Valley isn't among them after all. Funny, fresh, and written at the top of Montgomery's form, this is a delightful story I love to revisit. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      I liked this one more than the last, somehow. Perhaps because it didn't pretend to be about Anne when it wasn't, really. It's sad that it's the seventh of the Anne of Green Gables series, and Anne is hardly in it, of course, but the children are sweet, and interesting to read about. I think maybe the writing was a little better than in "Anne of Ingleside", too.
    • 3/5
      Digital audiobook read by Pam Ward.Book seven in the classic series about Anne Shirley and her family. Anne’s six children have discovered their own “magical” place where they can play and indulge their imaginations. When a new family moves into an old mansion nearby, they welcome the Meredith kids into their hideaway. And the children are intent on several projects.These books are just delightful reads. A nice gentle escape from today’s harsher realities. Yes, there are missteps and some tragic occurrences – life is like that. But on the whole, they are full of charming characters, believably innocent fun, and a few humorous miscalculations. The children learn that actions and words have consequences. Anne has grown into a wonderful mother, caring and supportive, guiding her brood towards adulthood.
    • 4/5
      Montgomery writes children well, and in the mischievous Merediths, she finds kindred spirits. Their misadventures are entertaining, though Mary Vance is, as Susan would say, a cat of another color.
    • 4/5
      Although Anne only made brief appearances in this book, I did enjoy "Rainbow Valley". The focused moved from the Blythes to their neighbours, Mr Meredith and his mother children who were basically raising themselves. The Meredith children were a boisterous and fun-loving group and were always getting into mishaps. However, they were cheerful, kind and good-natured children and I found them charming. I especially liked the youngest girl, Una. She was an old soul with big, serious eyes.I also enjoyed the romance between Rosemary West and Mr Meredith. It was sweet and endearing, and my favourite part of this book. The end foreshadows the advent of the Great War and finished rather poignantly.One more book to go!
    • 3/5
      This is mostly the story of the Meridith children growing up, who are friends with the Blythe children, Anne and Gilbert's offspring
    • 5/5
      Freshly returned from their European tour, Anne and Gilbert are reunited with their children and back in Ingleside. In their absence, a new minister, John Meredith has been appointed and has settled into the manse with his four rambunctious children who quickly bond with the Blythe children. As the children get into various adventures and mischief that frequently scandalizes their small community, the Meredith family must also face the realities of being without a mother and just what it means if their father should ever remarry.I always forget how beautiful Montgomery's prose is until I settle down with her novels and then I immediately remember how lovely it is to just let the words wash over you. In this penultimate entry in the Anne series we get far more focus on the Meredith children then on Anne and Gilbert and their brood. However, the book is no less charming for this mild shift in focus. The adventures and scrapes the children get into are just as entertaining as those of the Blythe children and the quiet romance of John Meredith's courting of a local old maid is just as delightful. There is also the sharp contrast with the charms of life in this small community with the dark foreshadowing of the onset of WWI.
    • 4/5
      Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery is about children. The main characters are the six children of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe and their good friends and neighbours the four Meredith children. Mr. Meredith is the local vicar and a widower, and while he is busy tending to his parish and working on sermons, his children have only a very elderly aunt to watch over them and so tend to get into scrapes and difficulties that manage to shock the community. But these are good-hearted children who eventually help keep a girl from being sent to the orphanage and find her a good home. They also put their heads together and help their father find a new wife and helpmate who will also be a friendly guide and companion to the children.Although this story is very light and the author tends to rely on clichéd phrases, I did enjoy reading of the values and mores of the early 20th Century. So much importance was placed on appearances and what the community would think, that I was quite happy when Faith and Walter shocked everyone by riding a couple of pigs through town. When the children gathered in Rainbow Valley, it reminded me of my own special places that I went to play when I was young.Rainbow Valley never reaches the perfection of the first three Anne books, but it is a cheerful, sunny story with a few clouds lurking on the horizon. I have very little doubt that these clouds will someday become World War I and that there could be heartbreak and suffering ahead for this family.
    • 4/5
      Originally published in 1919, this seventh book in L.M. Montgomery's eight-volume saga chronicling the life of red-headed orphan Anne Shirley (and then Blythe) - one could consider it a nine-volume series, if the recently released The Blythes Are Quoted was included - focuses on the adventures of Anne's children, together with their close friends, the Meredith siblings. Newly arrived in the village of Glen St. Mary, the Merediths - children of the widowed Rev. John Knox Meredith, the new Presbyterian minister in town, they include mischievous Faith and sweet-tempered Una, clever Jerry (Gerald) and scientifically-minded Carl - are soon fast friends with the young Blythes, and embroiled in the doings of village life. As the manse children, the Merediths are the center of village attention, something that often results in scandal, as they inadvertently give rise to gossip through their unconventional conduct. Whether it's taking in the runaway servant girl, Mary Vance - who herself eventually becomes part of the Rainbow Valley coterie - or meeting in the Methodist graveyard, everything the young Merediths do seems destined to set tongues wagging. As the novel progresses they resolve to "bring themselves up" in an effort to avoid embarrassing their father, but they meet with mixed success, proving that in the end there is no substitute for a mother. But will one be forthcoming...?This being the work of L.M. Montgomery, who seemed to specialize in tales of orphans finding homes, and lonely people finding families (of one sort or another), there isn't much doubt as to the eventual outcome, but it is still a great pleasure to see the story of the Merediths unfold. I have always enjoyed Rainbow Valley, which, although one of the "Anne" books, seems far more focused on the Merediths than the Blythes, far more than its (subsequently written) predecessor, Anne of Ingleside. As the daughter of a minister myself, I identified with the idea of a minister's family being put under the community microscope, and sympathized with the Meredith children as they earnestly sought to do the right thing. There is clear foreshadowing here, in the scenes in which Walter Blythe envisions "the piper" that will eventually lead the boys of Rainbow Valley far afield, which makes sense as the book was published just after WWI, which features prominently in the subsequent Rilla of Ingleside. All in all, this was an engaging entry in the series - not one of my favorites, but by no means the weakest - and sets up the final installment very nicely.
    • 3/5
      Anne’s kids find new playmates. Overall, a bit better than Anne of Ingleside — the Blythe kids are more interesting in this book, and the Meredith children are a lot of fun. My one major gripe is Rev. John Meredith, the severely absent-minded minister father who supposedly loves his kids but who doesn’t notice their poor food and household conditions, and on the rare occasions where he wakes up enough to notice, he doesn’t do anything about it, until he finally gets married to a woman who’ll take care of all that. I don’t find him funny or endearing; I pity him, but I also find him criminally irresponsible. At the very least, he could apply to one of his neighbors for advice — the Blythes live quite nearby, for example — or he could shell out the money for a good housekeeper; there’s no hint that this would be impossibly expensive for him. He’s one of these people who would make a fabulous contemplative monk or celibate priest but who has no business being a family man.
    • 4/5
      This is the seventh book in the Anne of Green Gables series, but the Blythes are actually minor characters in this novel. The story focuses more on the widowed minister, John Meredith, and his children, especially Faith and Una. They girls are friends with the Blythe children and they all play together in a place they call Rainbow Valley. There were so many funny misunderstandings in this one. At one point, Faith and Una get mixed up about what day of the week it is and they miss church, which causes a big scandal in the little community. Every time they try to stand up for their father they end up making things worse. There’s also a pair of older, unmarried sisters they find themselves with unexpected suitors. The first chapter of the book had me laughing out loud. Anne and her house keeper Susan are talking about gossip and their back and forth banter is just hilarious. There’s also a little orphaned girl named Mary who’s quite a pip. She was abused in her foster homes and is on the run. Her bad language and general worldview seem to get everyone in trouble. This one was much funnier than some of the other books in the series, but it’s not my favorite. I missed Anne, Gilbert, and some of the other characters I’ve grown to love so dearly. This one felt like it wasn’t really part of the series, but I still enjoyed the story. Even when Anne isn’t the central figure of the story, Montgomery has a way of making you love the characters in her books. “When that over-harbour doctor married the undertaker’s daughter at Lowbridge people felt suspicious of him. It didn’t look well.”“We miss so much out of life if we don’t love.” 
    • 4/5
      One of the best bits of this book is that while there are plenty of little stories along the way, there is an overarching storyline that is so satisfying. The Meredith family is mourning the loss of their mother & wife - but all is resolved in the end. The Meredith children are enjoyable - particularly the girls - and there is a scene at the end of the novel that never fails to bring me to tears. There isn't much in this book of Anne - I suppose it would be difficult to say much of life as a wife and mother that would be interesting to children - the main audience for these books. But Anne continues to be a sympathetic ear to children - both her own and the Merediths.
    • 3/5
      Oh my god, so sad, and so grown up somehow. Very different, and a whole world away, from Anne's Avonlea. I cried so much!
    • 4/5
      Rainbow Valley continues the trend begun in Anne of Ingleside in transferring the focus of attention from Anne Shirley herself to her children. This enables new readers come into the series 'fresh' - Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside are almost a sub-trilogy to the entire series of eight Anne novels. In many ways, with more focus on other community members and families, Rainbow Valley is akin to Montgomery's Avonlea books, and allows her the freedom to return to adventures of children in the idealist period of their lives and Montgomery's idealized vision of Canada in her youth.
    • 3/5
      After that disappointing 6th book, I was a little worried about what this 7th would be like. Although, again, the main action has little or no to do with Anne, this time it felt like a book-length story as opposed to mini character profiles. Anne's children make friends with the new Minister's children and there are plenty of tales and wild antics that ensue. The Minister and his kids really do take center stage but Anne's presence is still felt and the book is quite an enjoyable, leisurely read.
    • 2/5
      Rainbow Valley is the seventh book in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. It could almost be a stand-alone novel as there is very little of Anne, Gilbert, or their children. If you can get past the disappointment of not seeing very much of the Blythe's then you might enjoy Rainbow Valley. The story revolves around the Meredith's, the four children of a widowed Presbyterian minister. Anne and Gilbert's children play small parts, mostly in the background of the story.Although the Meredith children certainly can be described as unusual, I didn't find anything particularly interesting about them. I'm afraid that L.M. Montgomery simply ran out of unique characters by the seventh book. I feel let down that the series has turned so far away from Anne. It makes me wonder if Montgomery believed that our adventures end when we grow up and get married. A spirited woman like Anne would definitely continue to grow and evolve as a person. Taken outside of the series, Rainbow Valley is a beautifully written story - with the same graceful turns of phrase as the rest of the series, and full of drama and comedy. But when judged against it's predecessors it is a disappointment - with lackluster characters and a flat plot line. Quite uninteresting.
    • 4/5
      This book is more about the new preacher's children than about Anne's and Gilbert's brood of children. The manse children get into all sort of scapes since their father is a widower who easily gets lost into his own world and doesn't pay attention to his children. A new character is introduced who is a little orphan girl who has ran away from the home that she is working for. She is similar to Anne at that age who was also an orphan in a bad situation.
    • 5/5
      Rainbow Valley completes the shift started in Anne of Ingleside, moving the story away from Anne and her family and focusing instead on the new minister's family, the motherless Merediths. Mr. Meredith is a wonderful preacher, but very absent minded in everyday life. The four Meredith children, Jerry, Faith, Una, and Carl, are at the mercy of their doddering Aunt Margaret, who is really too old and blind to run the manse properly. The Meredith children often go without rather than ask their beloved father for anything, and after their doings scandalize the Glen they form a club for bringing themselves up, "since there is no one else to do it." Mary Vance is also introduced in this story, and she quickly becomes with the reader what she is to her set: a habit we can't get along without. She is an abused orphan who runs away from her mistress and lands in the manse with the Merediths. Her spicy tongue soon leads to trouble, as little Una believes everything Mary says... even regarding ghost stories and the inevitable cruelty of stepmothers. Throughout the story Mary voices a lot of stark theological misconceptions common to unloved, unwanted children. The children, left to figure out these problems themselves from their innocent observation of the people around them, always do so in a way consistent with their characters. The story is all the stronger for it.Norman Douglas is another favorite character who makes his first blustering appearance in this story. He is absolutely hilarious, the old pagan. The scene where Faith tells him off is so much fun! And I've always liked the love story subplots in this book — so very different, both sweet and hilarious. Ellen is fascinating. It's interesting that she is proven so right about the Kaiser of Germany, when the men in the story disagree with her political opinions on that score. We get hints of what is coming in Rilla of Ingleside with the Great War. The last chapter has the strongest foreshadowing, with Walter seeing a vision of the Piper who will call the boys of his generation and pipe them round the world. Rainbow Valley is one of my favorites among the series, despite the fact that Anne is a minor character. The Merediths are lovable and their adventures fresh and entertaining. I used to think that Anne of Green Gables and Rilla of Ingleside were my top favorites, but I'm not so sure that Rainbow Valley isn't among them after all. Funny, fresh, and written at the top of Montgomery's form, this is a delightful story I love to revisit. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      After having read through the trials and tribulations of Anne as she grew up, married, had children, made a life and a home, Rainbow Valley was a little startling in its pure concentration on the kids. Suddenly it was all nightmares and bosom friends and school tribulations again, with only glances at Anne. I missed her. Again, it was all dear and sweet, never sticky-icky – those children were not all angels, though the Blythes and their friends the Merediths were uniformly good-hearted … but … I wanted Anne, I guess.
    • 3/5
      I must confess to being a little disappointed when I realized that this book primarily concerns the Blythes' new neighbors, the widowed Rev. Meredith's children. Of course the Blythes are their playmates in idyllic Rainbow Valley, but I didn't take to them nearly as much because they're too far removed from Anne. Nevertheless, they have some riotous adventures, often inadvertantly at their father's expense, and the horror of the community seems to be directly in inverse proportion to their good intentions. The adventures snowball until the denoument, when all the situations are smoothed out in a satisfactory way. But the happy ending is bittersweet, especially as dark foreshadowing crops up more and more as the book progresses.
    • 3/5
      This book focuses more on the children and their neighbors than on Anne. Drudged through this one.
    • 5/5
      This book has even less to do with Anne than the previous one. It focuses on Anne's six children and their friendship with the four children of the new minister. It's a lovely book, beautifully written and a terrific journey through the same type of idyllic childhood that all of Montgomery's stories have. It makes me want to turn Victorian and move to PE Island. :)