ANNE'S FEELINGS

Fans of L.M. Montgomery will enjoy the whimsical art and
brief text inspired by the Anne of Green Gables novels.

Hill is well acquainted with the characters and scenes. She
designed the covers and interior art for the 2014 reissue of the series. As she
did in Anne’s Colors and Anne’s Numbers (2018), she reduces iconic
scenes familiar to Anne Shirley’s many fans to preschool concepts. Commonplace emotions
that can be summarized in one word (“angry,” “scared,” “happy,” “surprised”) become
images recognizable to even very young children. More abstract concepts (“calm,”
“brave,” “hopeful,” and the oh-so-Anne “depths of despair”) may not be
comprehensible to children under 3. Hill’s appliqué technique uses scraps of
fabric and visible stitching to create an old-fashioned feel but does not
convey the subtleties of complex emotions. As in the original stories, all the
characters are white; Anne’s braids are orange bundles of embroidery floss. Anne’s Alphabet (published
simultaneously) pairs each letter with a character or plot development from the
original novels. Adults with fond memories of the series will be delighted by
“K is for kindred spirit” or “L is for Lake of Shining Waters.” Young children
will just be mystified.

This premature introduction to a classic character is little
more than an excellent bit of marketing to eventual consumers of the original. (Board book. 2-4)