Saturday, October 16, 2010

Pssst! Wanna hear a secret?

Come a little closer. I'm embarrassed to say this too loud.

Lean in a little so I can whisper it.

Okay, that's better.  You see, um, I have this embarrassing secret.  I mean, it's pretty bad for a Children's Bookseller who's read, like, over a thousand books, and is supposed to be an expert on the books she sells.

But....

I've never read Anne of Green Gables.


Nope.  Never.

Devoured plenty of other classics, like The Secret Garden and The Jungle Book, and more modern classics like Charlotte's Web and The Phantom Tollbooth and The Giver. And lots of contemporary books that are destined to become classics. Books like Savvy and When You Reach Me and Maniac Magee.


But I've never read Anne of Green Gables.  In fact, when librarian Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 Productions over at School Library Journal announced the Top 100 Children's Novels of All Time in April of this year (and, hey, keep checking her website because she's bound to do a YA poll starting possibly in February 2011),  Anne of Green Gables was the only one of the top ten books I hadn't read.  

I had a customer last week who wondered if it would be a good choice for her granddaughter who likes historical fiction. She asked me point blank what I thought of it.  So what could I do?  Heh heh (*cringes*).  I nodded and smiled and said, "Oh, sure, that's a great choice for your granddaughter."  (Did you notice how I worded it so I didn't actually say I'd read the book?  Sneaky of me, eh?)

Go on.  Admit it.  There's at least one classic of Children's Literature that YOU'VE never read. Right?  So tell me. What is it?  And do you think you'll ever get around to reading it?

6 comments:

  1. I'm going to answer a little differently. There's one classic children's book I've never enjoyed, though everyone else seems to have loved it: A WRINKLE IN TIME. I'm thinking of trying it again sometime...

    I absolutely love Anne and have read every LM Montgomery book and published journal out there. Give her a try sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Caroline! Thanks for your comment. And actually, you're not alone. I never cared for A WRINKLE IN TIME either. I seem to recall being disappointed by the ending.

    I'll definitely put Anne on my TBR list. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I didn't read Anne of Green Gables until last year, so don't feel too bad. It is definitely worth reading. I will confess, I haven't ever read The Secret Garden. I have seen several movie versions though!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh whew! Thanks, Natalie. I'm glad to know you just read Anne last year. Ah, I LOVE The Secret Garden. None of the movie versions compare.

    I'll try to read Anne of Green Gables before the year is over. But you should definitely read The Secret Garden.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm with you! I've never read Anne or seen the show or movie or whatever it is...yikes, can't believe I admitted that. Maybe I will, but its not exactly on my current TBR pile.

    Also I answered all of your writing/publishing questions on my blog today. http://frankiediane.blogspot.com/2010/10/your-publishingwriting-questions.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ha ha, Frankie! The truth will out! Thanks. I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one. Never saw the movie versions either.

    Thanks for the heads up about the answers to my writing/publishing questions. I'll go visit your blog right now!

    ReplyDelete

I've disabled comments on this blog. I may be back at some time in the future, but for now, please visit my website: https://www.joannerossmasslerfritz.com/

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.