Anne Shirley's irrepressible optimism and tendency to get herself into all kinds of trouble have won her fans for generations. She's a kind of Canadian, book loving, poetry reading, head-in-the-clouds Pippi Longstocking-who-find-a-home for slightly older readers! The contrast between her rampant imagination and Marilla's down-to-earth, no nonsense approach to life lend the books a subtle humour that few can resist. And, of course, hers is the age old tale of an orphan who is adopted into a family against all the odds, and, in the process, softens and changes and brings life to the hardest of hearts and the most firmly set of ways. L. M. Montgomery writes with warmth, and tells a story of kindness and of love winning out over rejection, and of the power of community. She celebrates the preciousness and power of home and family, and love and acceptance despite misunderstandings and across difference. They might be best accessed for younger children as a read aloud - although be warned, once you have read one, it's hard not to move on to the next....and the next....and the next....that's a lot of reading aloud! If you haven't read these yourself, then do! I read them myself for the first time as an adult, and absolutely loved them.