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Good books, old friends

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By Kara G. Kvasnicka

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

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The Raggedy Ann doll my parents gave me when I was 8 still lends a warm decorative touch to my home. Shortly after I introduced this cherished childhood toy to readers in 1994, a close friend and colleague provided a "special" pillow on which Ann could sit. She now shares that pillow with a newer version of herself the same friend gave me as encouragement to continue writing about my favorite literary friends.

Both dolls have separate but important meanings for me and I will never outgrow my attachment to them even if I am (yes I confess) too old to play with them.

I am equally partial to the Anne of Green Gables doll which occupies a miniature rocking chair in my bedroom. She has her own unique and interesting story.

My maternal grandmother is the "kindred spirit" who first introduced me to L.M. Montgomery's wonderful series about the orphan Anne Shirley who transformed the lives of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert and the entire town of Avonlea with her soaring imagination and impetuous nature which continuously landed her in one scrape after another.

The well-known series has been loved by many since the first book was published in 1908. Grandma read the books during her childhood and decided to reread them when I was in high school.

On one of my grandparents' visits to us from their home in Minneapolis, I remember her pressing Anne of Green Gables into my hands after she had just enjoyed it for the second time. "Here, you will like this."

She was right. I do not know why I had not already discovered on my own this spunky heroine whose mistakes were so much fun to learn from. But I was enchanted with her and could hardly wait as, one by one, Grandma sent the rest of the books to me when she finished rereading them.

I am forever indebted to Grandma for sharing Anne with me and providing me with so many pleasurable hours of reading.

Years later I stumbled on a way to reciprocate Grandma's thoughtfulness in a gift shop in Traverse City. The moment I spotted a rag doll depicting Anne as the orphan Matthew Cuthbert took home from the train station in Bright River, I just knew I had found the perfect Christmas present for Grandma.

Hand crafted by the costume designer for the Anne of Green Gables movies shown on PBS in the late ‘80s, the doll brings to life Anne when she first arrived in Avonlea with her two bright-red braids, hopeful green eyes and freckles under a straw hat, a faded calico dress under a green jumper and hands firmly clutching her carpetbag "in just a certain way" so the handle did not pull out.

Grandma was tickled to receive the doll as I knew she would be. After spending Christmas with my family in Flint, she and Grandpa took Anne home to Minneapolis promising to take good care of her. Her letters kept me posted about Anne's activities and hinted that Anne missed me.

Not surprisingly I found Anne under my Christmas tree the next year as a representative of my grandparents who were spending Christmas in Tennessee with my sister and her family. This was a typical kindness from a woman whose many endearing Anne-like qualities include a preference for giving to receiving.

I thanked Grandma for allowing me to renew my acquaintance with Anne but reminded her that Anne had already forged a strong bond with her and would undoubtedly want to visit her again.

The next Christmas my grandparents could not come because they were busy getting ready to move closer to Flint so they could see their only daughter and her family more than once or twice a year.

Wanting to share Christmas with my grandparents from afar as they had with me the previous year, I packed Anne in her original box with a note of explanation and sent her off to Minneapolis again.

Anne arrived safely and a few months later journeyed with my grandparents to their new home in Frankenmuth.

She struck me as quite content to grace my grandparents' sofa, but Grandma thought otherwise.

Last Christmas she was no longer on the sofa but in a familiar box I opened along with a note explaining that while they had enjoyed Anne's company my grandparents were so busy with their new home they felt I could give Anne more attention.

So Anne now dreams quietly under my bedroom window looking none the worse for all her travels. I sometimes worry that she still feels like an orphan who will never find a permanent home. But Anne is not one to "throw away a compliment." I think she secretly thrives on receiving the love and friendship of two adoring fans.

Naturally this Christmas I intend to offer Grandma the chance to spend another year with Anne. But I think she has decided that I should watch over Anne at least until her great-granddaughter, my niece Lauren, is old enough to appreciate Anne's irrepressible spirit.

Only 17 months old, Lauren already has her own Raggedy Ann doll and scrambles quickly to your knee if you have a book in your hand so she can hear the story.

Who knows what fads will distract Lauren when she is old enough to read the Anne books but maybe receiving a doll that her great-grandmother and aunt shared (a doll that should have its own frequent flyer points) will tempt her to find out more about the literary character which inspired her.

I am glad it will be a while longer before Anne is ready to take this next "bend in the road." Between us, Grandma and I have enough "scope of the imagination" to write a few more chapters in her unusual history.

Sources of information about endearing Anne:
L.M. Montgomery traced the life of Anne Shirley in six novels.

The titles and original publishing dates are: Anne of Green Gables (1908); Anne of Avonlea (1909); Anne of the Island (1915); Anne of Windy Poplars (1936); Anne's House of Dreams (1922); and Anne of Ingleside (1939).

Although Anne of Windy Poplars was published after Anne's House of Dreams it should be read first if you wish to follow Anne's adventures chronologically.

All the books are available in paperback by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers.

Just in time for Christmas authors Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Erikson have published The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury (Viking, 1997, $22.95, 101 pages). Recipes and craft ideas are combined with reminiscences of the Anne books to evoke the ambience of Christmases celebrated at Green Gables.

Dolls, mugs, stationery and many other products licensed under the Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority Inc., Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada are available.

Using an Internet search engine such as Yahoo.Com, you can browse Anne of Green Gables links on the World Wide Web.

Both the books and the Internet are available at your local library.

Happy Holidays!

Kvasnicka, a former East Village Magazine news editor, has been the magazine's contributing editor and research consultant since 1989. She has a master's degree in information and library studies from the University of Michigan and works for the Genesee District Library.

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