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Eleanor Porter, the author of Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up, lived from 1868 to 1920 in New England. She was trained as a singer, studied at the New England Conservatory, but then turned to writing after her marriage in 1892. She became a successful author, with several best-selling novels to her credit. Pollyanna, the first of a two-book series, was one of these best-sellers. It was immensely popular in the years after its publication in 1913 and was adapted for film and television in 1920, 1960, and 2003. I think it would be enjoyed equally by girls and boys (I liked it!) and the reading level is middle to high school. Adults would like it, too, and elementary school children would enjoy hearing it read aloud to them, since it is a great story with quite lively writing, full of humor and tenderness.
Pollyanna Whittier is an orphan, whose parents were on the mission field. Her father had been a pastor and her mother had come from a wealthy family. She is sent back to live with her single aunt Polly, the older sister of her mother, who is about 40 years old, rich, beautiful, and very unhappy, though she doesn’t seem to acknowledge that fact to herself. Pollyanna has been taught well by her parents and lives by what she calls the “glad game,” which is just another name for the Biblical command in the New Testament, “Give thanks in all things” and “Rejoice!” Through her character and joy and teaching others her “glad game,” unconsciously, she is used by God to transform lives around her, including Aunt Polly’s life. A friend of mine, a retired English teacher in a Christian school, said that the best novels are the ones that display, in the lives of one or more characters, little-r redemption through a reformed life and character or capital-R Redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ. Pollyanna is full of little-r redemption but the foundation of the society in which the girl Pollyanna lives is undoubtedly Christian. The many quirky characters in the little New England town in which Pollyanna lives adds to the delight and humor of the novel.
Pollyanna reminds me a lot of Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables - her talkativeness, her unconventional but delightful take on life, her love of people in general, and the way she is a catalyst for change in the people around her. The first Anne Shirley book and Pollyanna both appeared within a few years of each other. If you loved the Anne Shirley books, you will also love Pollyanna.
We all love sequels, since we all want to know – “then what happened…” There were seven sequels to the Anne Shirley books but only one sequel for Pollyanna. Pollyanna Grows Up was written in 1915, only two years after Pollyanna appeared in print, so there must have been significant demand for a sequel. The first half of the book happens soon after the end of Pollyanna, so she is still a girl and the same magic happens, though in someone else’s life and in Boston. This sets up the characters and connections that are important in the second half of the book, which happens after six years that Pollyanna has spent in Germany with her Aunt Polly and Uncle Tom. Pollyanna is now twenty and back home, and her childhood friends, including Jimmy Bean, now James Pendleton, are grown up, too. The story then shifts more toward romantic relationships and misunderstandings, especially with the Boston friends, but Pollyanna still retains much of her earlier character and is still a delightful heroine. Again, this sequel reminds me of the first few Anne Shirley sequels, and is equally enjoyable to read. When we have enjoyed a television series XYZ, we search on the Internet for “shows like XYZ.” If you ever want to read something after the Anne Shirley books, then Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up are for you.