I wanted to do something a little different in this post and give you a quick look into two weeks (more or less!) in my reading life. 🙂

Typically I read 8-10 books a month, but lately it has been a little less because I’ve had so much going on (launching my latest novel and working on other projects), but I have been enjoying some great reading and wanted to share a bit about it!

A little over two weeks ago, I finished reading Spring Begins in March by Jean Little. It is a perfect springtime read (as the title might suggest!), even though the title is really more metaphorical than literal. It’s the sequel to Mine for Keeps, Little’s first novel. I have talked about this book before in my Best Books of Spring post, but it’s worth talking about again because of the charming, realistic characters and the delightful resolution. The best part of the book is when Meg’s grandmother reads aloud Anne of Ingleside to her. This scene was taken from one of Little’s own experiences as a child, when she “read ahead” after her grandmother finished reading for the night because she had to find out what happened to Anne!

When I first read Spring Begins in March, this scene made me want to read Anne of Ingleside, which I never had before. (I had read Anne of Green Gables countless times, but had never gotten to some of the later volumes.) So I read it and loved it! In a journal entry from that time, I wrote: “I like the little vignettes, like individual episodes of a sitcom.” Readers have criticized the episodic nature of some Montgomery books, but much of the time those ‘episodes’ make the books special and unique.

So when I revisited Spring, it put me in the mood to revisit Ingleside. But there was a catch: I have been trying to read the Anne series in order for the first time EVER. I started last April with AOGG and have been (slowly!) continuing throughout the months, and I needed to read Anne’s House of Dreams in order to read Ingleside.

I decided to challenge myself to read AHOD in three days. I have always been a slow reader—I read tons of books but it typically takes me a week to read a long-ish book like the ones in the Anne series. And I love a good challenge! So I dived in and (sort of) binged AHOD. It was terrific fun! AHOD is (like other Montgomery books) essentially stitched together from various short stories that LMM wanted to revisit, but everything is seamless. In my opinion, this is perhaps the most well-crafted Anne book because there’s nothing really extraneous—everything matters, and the various subplots all work well together in harmony.

Here is a two-page spread in my scrapbook that I created while reading AHOD:

So then I went on to Ingleside, but at the moment I am only about halfway through because of two things: life became even busier, and I also received some books for my birthday (yay!) and I am starting on those. Anne of Ingleside is such a joy to read, especially the original portions that were never short stories, LOL! I just find this to be another absolutely wonderful springtime selection.

I also recently read Lizzie by May Justus, a chapter book from 1944 that was reprinted a few years ago. I’ve embarked on a different kind of reading challenge this year—I want to try reading a book set in each U.S. state! So Lizzie was my choice for Tennessee; it’s set in the mountains and is very sweet. Nothing much happens in it, but since it’s so short, that’s okay. 🙂

I just finished one of the books I received for my birthday, Lois Lenski’s Flood Friday. I had a hard time putting it down because I had to find out what happened to all the children! It was based on a real flood in Connecticut in the 1950s, and Lenski is (as usual) excellent with bringing details to life.

The next book I’m currently reading is The Adventure of the Seven Keyholes by Augusta Huiell Seaman. I love her books—she wrote vintage children’s mysteries in the early 20th century and this one, from 1925, is quite good so far.

So that’s basically two weeks in my reading life. What have you been reading lately? I’d love to hear about the last two weeks in your reading life!

If you’re like me, you probably are a longtime fan of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Maybe you’re hoping for a book that has a similar feel, but you’re not sure where to look. In this post, I’m going to be sharing a few fun vintage titles that I hope will be new to you!

– If you love the strong friendship and mischievous adventures that Anne and Diana have, try Katie John by Mary Calhoun.

– If you’re a fan of the stunning imagery and nature descriptions throughout Anne, try Maggie Rose: Her Birthday Christmas by Ruth Sawyer. (Hard to find but if you can, it’s fabulous!)

– If you’re looking for another story set in Canada and written in the 20th century, try One to Grow On by Jean Little.

– If you’re in the mood for a coming-of-age story about a young woman from a small town, try Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace.

– If you’re on the hunt for another episodic book where each chapter is its own mini story, try The Saturdays or The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright.

– If your favorite aspect of AOGG was the Anne and Gilbert subplot, try Pat of Silver Bush, one of Montgomery’s lesser-known books that features a Gilbert-like hero (Jingle)!

– If you’d like to read another heartwarming story about an orphan finding a wonderful new home, try Runaway Alice by Frances Salomon Murphy.

– If you want another lengthy girls’ classic that isn’t as well-known as Anne, try What Katy Did at School by Susan Coolidge.

What books would you recommend to Anne fans? Leave a comment below!

I hope you are having a lovely spring! I am having such a good time planting a few early seeds, doing some weeding, and watching a certain chickadee gather materials for her nest. But as usual, I’m also deep in the throes of rewriting a novel (I’m at 26k), and I’m enjoying my reading as well.

With the assistance of a helpful librarian at the Kerlan Collection of the University of Minnesota Libraries, I was recently able to acquire some scans of Maud Hart Lovelace’s research materials for Emily of Deep Valley (1950), which provided an interesting window of insight into Lovelace’s method of pre-writing (at least for Emily). I’m very much fascinated by the behind-the-scenes processes of my favorite writers, which I am sure will inspire many more blog posts like this one today and this one from last year, which explores L.M. Montgomery’s possible influence on the novels of Noel Streatfeild and Margaret Sutton. That is my particular area of interest: how writers are influenced by the authors who came before them.

Speaking of scans from the Kerlan Collection, I was also able to study a letter written in 1958 by Noel Streatfeild to Elizabeth Enright, who was evidently one of her favorite authors. In this letter, Streatfeild complimented the Melendy Quartet books and wondered if perhaps the Melendy children’s father remarried after the series ended. Since this is exactly the idea that flitted through my brain the last time I read the series, I was utterly delighted by this and by the fact that Streatfeild wrote about the family as if they were real.

This example, too, fits into my niche of fascination, and leaves me with no doubt that Streatfeild was inspired by Enright when writing her own novels. Best of all, Streatfeild also mentioned how happy she was that Enright liked her books. This was perhaps the greatest discovery of all, for there are Streatfeild-esque traces in Enright’s The Four-Story Mistake (1942), in which Shakespeare-quoting Mona gets a job as a radio actress. (And the fact that Randy is an aspiring ballerina seals the deal.) Since the first Melendy book (The Saturdays) wasn’t published until 1941—and Ballet Shoes was from 1936—it’s safe to say that Streatfeild’s stage-inclined characters could have served as inspirations for the Melendy sisters.

Along similar lines is the way that Canadian author Jean Little (who sadly passed away last year) was influenced by L.M. Montgomery. My introduction to Montgomery’s Anne of Ingleside (1939), the sixth book in the Anne series and a recent re-read, was somewhat unusual. I was reading Little’s Spring Begins in March (1966), the sequel to her acclaimed Mine for Keeps (1962), and I came to the great scene where Meg’s grandmother reads aloud Anne of Ingleside. I had always steered clear of the book, thinking it sounded dull, but Little made the story sound so interesting that I had to give it a try.

I was subsequently swept up into the Ingleside world and immediately read Rainbow Valley (1919) and then Rilla of Ingleside (1921), despite repeated warnings from my older sisters that Walter died and it was Very Sad. But what made reading Rilla particularly interesting was that I had also just read another sequel of Jean Little’s: Listen for the Singing (1977), the heart-wrenching encore to From Anna (1972). The parallels between Listen for the Singing and Rilla of Ingleside are unmistakable: two Canadian wartime novels focused on a teenage girl’s coming of age alongside a brother who does not want to go to war (and yet who goes anyway, with ensuing tragedy). Since I already knew that Little had read Montgomery from that scene in Spring Begins in March, I wondered if she had modeled Anna Solden’s brother Rudi off of Walter Blythe. I suspect that it was an influence, whether consciously or not, and I hope to someday find a bit more concrete evidence to support my theory. Little was not without criticism of Montgomery—an article she wrote for Canadian Children’s Literature in 1975 confirms that—but she also praised the way Montgomery wrote her child characters.

But lest you think that Montgomery only inspired other writers and was not inspired by any herself, this is far from the case! When recently reading Longfellow’s epic poem Evangeline, I was enraptured by the Acadian tale but also enormously pleased to realize that here was where Montgomery doubtlessly found inspiration for her own prose. The tone and style and word choice convinced me, and this paragraph in her 1929 novel Magic for Marigold clinched it:

Lazarre was playing his fiddle behind the copse of young spruces back of the apple-barn—the old brown fiddle that his great-great-great-grandfather had brought from Grand Pré. Perhaps Evangeline had danced to it. Aunt Marigold had told Marigold the story of Evangeline.

But although poetry was a major source of influence for Montgomery, it was not her only inspiration. I’m fairly certain that she read Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868-9)—I know I’ve read this fact somewhere but I can’t remember where at the moment—and it’s fun to note that Alcott uses the phrase “kindred spirit” twice in Little Women; the phrase that Montgomery borrowed so memorably for Anne of Green Gables. Nowadays, the words “kindred spirit” are almost synonymous with Anne and Montgomery, and I love that it was perhaps Alcott who helped to influence Montgomery’s usage of the phrase.

These are just a few of the tidbits I’ve been pondering lately—including how Maud Hart Lovelace, as mentioned at the beginning of this post, may have been inspired by Montgomery’s books—but I shall have to close now. In any event, I’ll probably return to this subject soon, because I’m finding it pretty fun to wade through all this bookish conjecture!

And speaking of bookish conjecture … I have some *very exciting* news coming up hopefully later this year, so if you’d like to be one of the first to know, make sure you’re signed up to my newsletter!

Recently Read: The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
Currently Reading: Depend on Katie John by Mary Calhoun, Nothing to Do but Stay by Carrie Young

I have often thought it interesting that my two favorite authors, L.M. Montgomery and Noel Streatfeild, should have such different writing styles. I wrote to friends in a reading group: “My two favorite authors are stylistically dissimilar…I’ve read 20+ books by each of them and one author is very flowery, elegant, and artistic [Montgomery], while the other is matter-of-fact and concise [Streatfeild].”

I was so focused on the differences between these authors that I was surprised to find a possible connection between their books. It happened while I was recently rereading Montgomery’s Pat of Silver Bush (1933). One of my favorite scenes is when Jingle’s mother, Doreen Garrison, comes for a visit, and Pat is an onlooker to the uncomfortable reunion. For the first time, I realized that this scene was reminding me of another fascinating scene: the moment when Noel Streatfeild’s heroine Gemma Bow in Gemma Alone (1969) sees her mother Rowena Alston again after a gap of several years.

The two passages, while markedly different in style, share definite similarities:

Pat saw her more clearly than Jingle did. Tall, slender, graceful as a flower, in a soft fluttering chiffon dress like blue mist; pale, silvery-golden hair sleeked down all over her head like a cap under a little tilted hat of smooth blue feathers: bluish-green eyes that never seemed to see you, even when they looked at you, under eyebrows as thin as a line drawn in soot; a mouth that spoiled everything, so vividly red and arched was it. She might have stepped off a magazine cover. Beautiful…oh, yes, very beautiful! But not…somehow…like a mother!

“I like a mother who looks like a mother,” was the thought that whisked through Pat’s head. This woman looked…at first…like a girl.[1]

Whereas in Gemma Alone:

For one thing, Rowena’s appearance had hardly changed. Her hair was rather a brighter gold, and she wore artificial eyelashes all the time instead of only when working, which she had not done before she went to Hollywood. Surprisingly she looked, Gemma thought, younger than when she had last seen her. Perhaps it was the clothes, which were short-skirted and little-girlish that year, but certainly she looked less like somebody’s mother even than she had done before.[2]

In these descriptions, we get not only the same general feel, but we end up with readily identifiable connections between Montgomery’s Doreen and Streatfeild’s Rowena. Both are self-focused, feel awkward around their children (whom they have not seen for prolonged absences); both have “gold” hair, are viewed as girlish instead of motherly…

Do we have any basis for the supposition that Streatfeild was inspired by Montgomery? Aside from the parallels in these scenes, we do know that Streatfeild sought other works for inspiration in her own writings—in fact, her novel The Painted Garden (1949) is a remarkable retelling of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden (1911).

Certainly it would seem that Streatfeild tended to read fellow British authors: Arthur Ransome is mentioned in her 1944 work Curtain Up (also titled in the U.S. as Theater Shoes); Burnett was clearly an influence; a Beatrix Potter story is referenced in Ballet Shoes (1936). I also believe that Streatfeild was influenced by popular author Enid Blyton (1897-1968), and she was very firmly a fan of Victorian author E. Nesbit, of whom she wrote a biography in 1958. Curtain Up contains a description of a bookshelf that includes Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield as well as works of Shakespeare. But in this section we also find a reference to an American story: Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

We also know that Streatfeild read the novels of American author Elizabeth Enright, since her 1966 work The Growing Summer is dedicated to her, “because I so greatly admire her books.”[3] Not only did Streatfeild admire Enright, but my surmise is that she attempted to imitate her: The Growing Summer (published in the U.S in 1967 as The Magic Summer) is a foray into a more environmental, descriptive style than was Streatfeild’s norm. Her earlier novels tend to focus heavily on dialogue or long paragraphs detailing summaries of her characters’ activities. The Growing Summer is much more firmly in the Enright style of writing, in which the characters’ adventures are shown rather than told, and in which the setting plays a vigorous role rather than being relegated to a couple of brief sketches.

Needless to say, it isn’t as far-fetched as I originally thought to consider that Streatfeild might have read a popular Canadian author of her era, and possibly stored away an idea here or there for future books. The Gemma series was published in 1968-69, thirty-five years after Pat of Silver Bush—so even if it was inspired by a scene in the book, Streatfeild’s emulation of it may have been unconscious rather than a deliberate artistic choice. However, Streatfeild did have a robust library of personal books (her flat had “one wall [that] was almost covered with a floor-to-ceiling bookcase”[4]), and perhaps Montgomery’s works were among the works she revisited more than once.

As I neared the end of Pat of Silver Bush, I came across another line that struck me:

“There’s that unfinished house, Hilary…it always makes my heart ache.”[5]

I had just reread The Unfinished House (1938), the eleventh volume in the Judy Bolton mystery series written by Margaret Sutton. Unfinished houses are not only in Pat, either—it’s a bit of a motif in Montgomery’s writings, appearing in the Emily series (1923-27) in a much more major role (“the Disappointed House”):

Off to the right, on the crest of a steep little hill, covered with young birches and firs, was a house that puzzled and intrigued Emily. It was grey and weather-worn, but it didn’t look old. It had never been finished; the roof was shingled but the sides were not, and the windows were boarded over. Why had it never been finished?[6]

I have wondered before if Sutton was influenced by L.M. Montgomery. While it’s true that Sutton wrote fast-paced mysteries—a far cry from Montgomery’s slow, romantic novels at first glance—the mirroring elements in these books are worth noting. I feel that some of the less formulaic aspects of the Judy Bolton mysteries have a Montgomery-esque tinge: early in the series, Judy wavers between marrying longtime chum Peter Dobbs or wealthy architect Arthur Farringdon-Pett: a delightful trope which is reminiscent of love triangles found in Montgomery’s Anne and Emily books. It’s this kind of element that sets it apart from other girls’ mystery books of the era: Nancy Drew, for example, is a perennial 18-year-old within a limited sphere, while Judy is free to graduate high school, go to business college, get a job, marry, start a home of her own, etc… Also, characters in early Judy books often return in later volumes, another note of realism that makes it more unique than standard mysteries of its time—and I think this is because Sutton approached her novels with a background of reading older series books, and she brought what she had learned from those.

Consider this paragraph from the twenty-first book in the Judy Bolton series, The Clue of the Stone Lantern (1951):

The lawn sloped gently toward a grove of gnarled old trees that now cast weird shadows in the moonlight. At the foot of the slope was a crystal lake where moonbeams shimmered and danced like ghosts across the water.[7]

To me, this is very much a Montgomery kind of paragraph: strong on poetic imagery, creating plenty of atmosphere with deftly-chosen words. In a similar vein, Sutton’s book The Haunted Fountain was retitled; I believe I read that she had wanted to call it The Enchanted Fountain (which fits the story much better), but her publisher requested a more standard mystery title. But doesn’t The Enchanted Fountain sound just like something Montgomery might have invented?

Do we have any firm evidence that Sutton read Montgomery? Actually…I think we do! When Margaret Sutton was interviewed at the University of Wisconsin in 1984, long after the Judy Bolton series was cancelled, she told the interviewer that she had wanted to write a book in which Judy became a mother—“but the publishers wouldn’t let her,” she explained. When the interviewer pointed out that “other series characters had children,” Sutton responded: “Oh, yes, Pollyanna has children, and Anne of Green Gables has children. Ruth Fielding had children.”[8] This is practically confirmation that Sutton at least read the Anne series, and might have read the Pat books as well. (Pat of Silver Bush was released just one year after the first four books in the Judy Bolton series hit shelves.) When it came time to write the eleventh Judy book, is there a possibility that Sutton recalled the memorable phrase ‘unfinished house’ and it sparked her imagination?

Either way, I like to contemplate the idea that L.M. Montgomery might have influenced two other favorite authors of mine, just as she was inspired by Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (which is among my top 5 favorite novels). This is an endless circle of inspiration and influence, one that I hope to continue with my own writing!

[1] L.M. Montgomery, Pat of Silver Bush (1933), pg. 231

[2] Noel Streatfeild, Gemma Alone (1969), pg. 61

[3] Noel Streatfeild, The Magic Summer (1967), dedication page

[4] Noel Streatfeild, Ballet Shoes for Anna (1972), postscript by William Streatfeild (1998), pg. 251

[5] L.M. Montgomery, Pat of Silver Bush (1933), pg. 316

[6] L.M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon (1923), pg. 65

[7] Margaret Sutton, The Clue of the Stone Lantern (1950), pg. 3

[8] Q&A with Margaret Sutton, JudyBolton.com [http://www.judybolton.com/jbwisc.html]

Today, I’m doing a quick “news roundup” of some fun tidbits from the past couple of weeks!

First and foremost, I recently signed with Molly Shaffer, a literary agent at Golden Wheat Literary! I’m so thrilled to be taking this step in my writing journey! The past month has definitely been a whirlwind of excitement, and I can’t wait to keep working toward my goal of publication. 🙂

I also received the latest issue of Inside Gymnastics, which includes my feature on the 2008 U.S. Olympic women’s team. It was so much fun chatting on the phone with Nastia, Chellsie, and Samantha for this piece! Quotes from Bridget Sloan and Shawn Johnson also appear in the article. If you haven’t already subscribed to the magazine, be sure to buy a copy!

The latest issue of @InsideGym has arrived! Be sure to check out my “Back to Beijing” article, featuring quotes from @samanthapeszek, @CMemmel, @NastiaLiukin, @ShawnJohnson, and @bridgetsloan! 😍 pic.twitter.com/P1CqBJMMXo

— Anna Rose Johnson (@GymnasticsRosie) October 1, 2018

October has been a blustery, rainy, and snowy month so far! But we’re enjoying some truly beautiful fall colors here in Wisconsin. Here’s a few photos I snapped a few days ago!

Feisty waves on a misty lake:

A seagull flying overhead:

Beautiful colors on a rural road:

A gorgeous orange maple:

I’ve decorated a new bookshelf to showcase my vintage hardbacks of favorite classics, such as my beloved Pollyanna and Carolyn Wells books, some 1930s and ’40s mysteries, and a handful of lovely Louisa May Alcott novels:

Speaking of reading, I recently read The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden (2018) by Karina Yan Glaser, and I loved its sweet storyline. As a writer of children’s books, I also enjoyed Sarah Clarkson’s inspiring Caught Up in a Story (2014). In other reading news, I’m currently rereading L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, and I’m halfway through Jean Craig: Nurse by Kay Lyttleton (1949), which I discovered in a charming antique store. It’s a little like the Cherry Ames books, which are some of my favorite vintage mysteries.

It finally arrived! Cannot wait to read the second Vanderbeekers book by @KarinaYanGlaser! As a fan of classic middle grade (Enright, Streatfeild, Estes, etc…) it’s refreshing to find a new series that reminds me of my favorites! ❤️😍 pic.twitter.com/W0zMhkMBeR

— Anna Rose Johnson (@GymnasticsRosie) September 26, 2018

One of the reasons I love classic middle grade/YA (and one of the reasons I write in this genre) is that these books are ideal for summer. I’ve collected a list of books that are particularly suited to summertime; a perfect complement to blooming flowers, breezy days, long walks in the woods, and (perhaps best of all!) ice cream and raspberries. 🙂

Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson
This story of a young girl’s year on an awe-inspiring Pennsylvania farm won the Newbery Medal in 1957, and it’s full of rich descriptive language and the beauty of nature—a must-read for anyone who loves maple syrup, meadows full of flowers, and—of course!—miracles.

The Time Garden by Edward Eager
Edward Eager’s magical adventure books are always a delight, and The Time Garden is one of his best. A Revolutionary War-era mansion by the sea, an encounter with the March sisters from Little Women, and a slew of witty mishaps are just a few of the facets of this tall tale.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Often compared to the stories of Enright and Streatfeild, the Penderwick family’s original novel (there are five books in this series) will enchant readers who long for stories reminiscent of old favorites. (Birdsall says that she was inspired by The Secret Garden and E. Nesbit’s The Enchanted Castle when creating Arundel.)

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
When two cousins discover a ramshackle resort town while exploring in the woods, they spend the summer learning the secrets of this forgotten place and the eccentric individuals who still live there. The sequel, Return to Gone-Away, is even more delightful, in my opinion!

The Magic Summer by Noel Streatfeild
Mystery and mayhem abound when four siblings from the city are sent to live with their great-aunt in the Irish countryside. (I love the poetry quoted in this book—it’s a fun touch!)

Jill’s Story by Jean Fiedler
This 1965 book is greatly unknown—I had to add it to the Goodreads database myself! But if you can find a copy of Jill’s Story, you’re in for a treat—it chronicles an unforgettable summer at Cape Cod for Jill Robertson, an aspiring young writer.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
A well-spoken and well-traveled doll, Hitty is carved from mountain-ash wood around the 1820s, and her sweet memoir describes the first hundred years of her adventurous existence, from life on a whaling ship to the streets of New York and her first ride in an automobile. (Published in 1929, it was the ninth winner of Newbery Medal!)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I’ve reread this book probably every summer since I was ten years old, and it still feels wonderfully fresh. I love the new editions of the Montgomery books from Tundra, illustrated by Elly McKay—so breathtaking!

Carney’s House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace
All of the Betsy-Tacy books are splendid for this season, but I chose Carney’s House Party for this list, because it’s set during the summer of 1911, when Carney Sibley returns home from Vassar to host a house party for her friends in picturesque Deep Valley.