This year, I received three L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables inspired books from Penguin Random House Canada, and considering the fact that two of the books come out today, I thought that I would do a group review post about all three books!

Title: House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery
Author: Liz Rosenberg
Illustrator: Julie Morstad
Type: Nonfiction
Genre: Children’s, Middle Grade, Biography
Publisher:  Candlewick Press (Penguin Random House Canada)
Date published: June 12, 2018

An affecting biography of the author of Anne of Green Gables is the first for young readers to include revelations about her last days and to encompass the complexity of a brilliant and sometimes troubled life.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, “I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them.” Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books, she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L. M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables. For many years, not a great deal was known about Maud’s personal life. Her childhood was spent with strict, undemonstrative grandparents, and her reflections on writing, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her “year of mad passion,” and her difficult married life remained locked away, buried deep within her unpublished personal journals. Through this revealing and deeply moving biography, kindred spirits of all ages who, like Maud, never gave up “the substance of things hoped for” will be captivated anew by the words of this remarkable woman.

• The cover of House of Dreams is absolutely lovely, and quite soothing and calming to look at!
• I like that the beginning of each chapter had a beautiful and relevant illustration paired with it.
• I enjoyed the writing in House of Dreams and liked being able to learn a little more about L.M. Montgomery, since I’ve never actually read Anne of Green Gables, or learned anything about Montgomery in school! (Which is kind of strange considering that I live in Canada…)

“On a late June afternoon in 1905, Maud Montgomery sat in her grandmother’s kitchen, writing. She
sat not at the kitchen table, but perched on
top of it, her feet set neatly on a nearby soft, her notebook propped against her knees.”

– Liz Rosenberg, House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery

Title: Goodnight, Anne
Author: Kallie George
Illustrator: Geneviève Godbout
Type: Fiction
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Tundra Books (Penguin Random House Canada)
Date published: September 25, 2018

A beautiful bedtime picture book based on the best-selling Anne of Green Gables, introducing the irrepressible and beloved Anne to younger readers. It’s time for Anne to go to bed, but not before she wishes goodnight to everyone and everything she loves!

Under the watchful eye of her adoptive mother Marilla, Anne has come to cherish life at Green Gables — the dearest, loveliest spot in the world, and her true home. Every night before she goes to bed, she thinks of all the people and places she loves: her family, her bosom friend Diana, her splendid teacher Miss Stacy, beloved tree Snow Queen, the Lake of Shining Waters and the brilliant sky above. Anne even wishes goodnight — or good riddance! — to pesky classmate Gilbert and nosy neighbor Mrs. Lynde. And through it all, Anne’s imagination takes flight on a whimsical journey through Avonlea.

This sweet and heartfelt picture book is a perfect read-aloud introduction to L.M. Montgomery’s beloved Anne and will delight her brand-new fans and lifelong readers alike.

• Good Night, Anne did a great job of capturing the mood found in Anne of Green Gables (the mood that I got from the 2016 film anyway) with the use of very few pages.
• The illustrations were beautifully-coloured, and I really like the texture that they had about them (in the same style as illustration shown on the cover of this book).
• The story in Good Night, Anne is perfect for making children aware of Anne of Green Gables early in life, and is also quite suitable to be read right before bedtime, since the colours and wording really soothe the reader (and the listener/s, if read out loud) lulling everyone into a nice and gentle sleep.

“Goodnight to all of my kindred spirits.
And goodnight, Green Gables…”

– Kallie George, Goodnight, Anne

Title: Anne Arrives
Adapted by: Kallie George
Illustrator: Abigail Halpin
Type: Fiction
Genre: Children’s, Picture Books
Publisher: Tundra Books (Penguin Random House Canada)
Date published: September 25, 2018

The charming first book in a new early-reader series, starring the spirited — and outspoken — Anne Shirley as she first arrives at Green Gables.

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert need help on their farm, so they’ve adopted what they hope will be a sturdy, helpful boy. Instead, Matthew finds Anne awaiting him at the train station — imaginative, brash, redheaded Anne-with-an-e. With her place at the Cuthberts’ at risk — particularly if nosy neighbor Mrs. Lynde has anything to say about it — Anne will have to learn patience, understanding and what it takes to make Green Gables her true home.

Lovingly adapted by Kallie George with beautiful, nostalgic illustrations by Abigail Halpin, Anne Arrives is perfect for new fans of Anne and old.

• Ann Arrives has a few more pages than the previous book, and focuses on Anne’s arrival at Green Gables and all of the other characters’ reactions to how unique she is.
• I absolutely adore the colours and style of the cover, and the interior illustrations were nice as well. I like that at least every second page had a colourful illustration to match the text, and that there was never any text alone on a two page spread (as I believe that this may make Anne Arrives easier and more fun to read for some children).
• I really liked the overall feel of this book, and it made me want to pick up the full length Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery in order to read about Anne in more detail and to see what happens next in this famous Canadian book!

“There is little scope for the
imagination in an orphanage.
But here…Oh!”

― Kallie George, Anne Arrives

THANK YOU FOR READING MY L.M. MONTGOMERY AND ANNE OF GREEN GABLE INSPIRED BOOK POST! HAVE YOU EVER READ ANNE OF GREEN GABLE, HEARD OF L.M. MONTGOMERY, OR READ ANY ANNE OF GREEN GABLE THEMED BOOKS BEFORE READING THIS POST? LET ME KNOW!