Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Having always loved the “Anne of Green Gables” books I had previously overlooked this classic. But on reading it I was disappointed to find that this book was another story along the same lines without the sweetness and fun that made Anne so popular. Perhaps if I had read this one before Lucy Maude Montgomery’s other trilogy “Emily of New Moon” I would have liked it better.

Rebecca leaves the family owned farm she christened “Sunnybrook” and comes to live with her two elderly Aunts who did not want her. They had expected to get her older, sensible sister, Hannah. Rebecca is a dreamer but with a practical side and although she makes mistakes like leaning on a freshly painted fence and throwing her beloved parasol down the well she soon out grows them. The boy at school who takes a fancy to Rebecca is no cheeky trickster but “Seesaw” Simpson, called so because he can never make up his mind. The plot is predictable and Rebecca, although sweet is a rather dull character.

If you are looking for another book just like Anne of Green Gables then by all means read this, but if you want something for girls that is different try “Heidi” or “What Katy Did”!

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