A.J. Cattapan

This website wouldn’t be authentic if my very first book review weren’t my favorite children’s book of all time.

Title: Anne of Green Gables

Author: L.M. Montgomery

Age group: middle grade

Genre: Historical (or at least, it’s history to us now!)

Synopsis: An elderly brother-sister team decide to adopt an orphan boy to help out on their farm on Prince Edward Island, Canada. However, a redheaded, twelve-year-old girl is sent instead. Anne Shirley may not be the boy they need on the farm, but her irrepressible spirit and knack for getting into trouble soon endear her to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Now if only the cute boy in class wouldn’t tease her about her red hair . . .

Does it pass the “Homeschool Mom Test”? Absolutely! Nothing to worry about here, Mom! The language is clean. The fun is wholesome, and the characters are completely endearing.

How much do I love it? In 2008, Anne of Green Gables turned one hundred years old. I journeyed to Prince Edward Island for the celebration. Is it too sacrilegious to say it was a bit of a pilgrimage for me? I first read the book in sixth grade. When I turned to the last page, I didn’t want it to be over. The characters were so vivid that I simply had to know what happened to them next. It wasn’t until seventh grade that a friend told me there were more books about Anne. Imagine my happiness! Then she told me someone had made a movie. More happiness!

Two copies of Anne of Green Gables (the one on the right is my copy from sixth grade)

In case I haven’t made my love of this book clear enough yet, the photo at the top of my blog was taken on my trip to PEI back in 2008. I was standing outside the real Green Gables looking toward the forest Anne named “The Haunted Wood.” Pretty, isn’t it?

Starting tomorrow, it’s my plan to begin reviewing children’s books on Mondays. As part of my review, I’ll include a part called “Does it pass the ‘Homeschool Mom Test’?”

Whenever I go to writer’s conferences, I tend to meet homeschooling moms. As soon as they find out I’m a middle school English teacher, they ask if I have any book recommendations for their kids. Sure, I have tons of them. The problem is that I can’t always think of the many great kids books I’ve read, so I thought my blog would be a perfect place to refer them.

These moms are looking for books that are “safe” for their kids: little to no violence, appropriate language, romance scenes for the young adult crowd that don’t make the moms blush, and moral lessons that don’t go against their own belief systems. Therefore, each book review will include a section that explains whether or not I think the typical homeschooling mom would find it a good fit for her kids.

If you’re a homeschooling mom or simply looking for a good book for a teen or tween, stick around!

After years of blogging about baking, it’s time I started a real website. So far, I’ve spent a lot of time banging my head against the wall. Come back soon to see if I’ve survived the process of building a website on my own! 🙂