Oh, Anne of Green Gables. I remember briefly reading some of this book back in my elementary school years, but not much. When I went to University, we studied the entire first book front to back. It was such a magical dive into a tale of a young girl with such incredible imagination. I loved it! I'm slowly working my way through the whole series now, because it truly was enchanting to me. So, you know what that means - of COURSE I want to read other adaptations to see how other people saw Anne. Anne Shirley is a one of a kid character - one that is super memorable.

Anne's School Days is a great, little story book following Anne and her friends. We venture off with Anne and Diana into a whimsical walk through Lover's Lane (a path to the school with lots of trees). Sudden news comes from Diana - Gilbert Blythe will be coming to school after his visits with his cousins! Things go along, like things do, and we end up seeing the infamous scene of Gilbert pulling Anne's hair. That's a big uh-oh moment for those of you who haven't read the book. The fallout from this incident plays out in this book since it's all about Anne's days at school.

This takes some notes from the first book in the series and makes it a short, simple read with pictures. I liked it! It's a great way to introduce yourself to Anne in a kid-friendly way. Not that Anne of Green Gables isn't kid friendly, but it can be long for some young readers! But, hey - maybe you'll be as adventurous as Anne and read the original!

Other notes:
1. The one opening page with images of Anne, carrots, leaves, and books is STUNNING. Seriously, that's one of my favourite images that I've seen in a long time. Make that my wallpaper background PRONTO!

2. All of the illustrations are enchanting, fun and whimsical. It seems very fitting for a fun girl like Anne Shirley.

Honestly? I loved it. Overall, it's a great adaptation and made me smile.

Five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. ( )

I liked this adaptation almost as much as the previous two in the series but was disappointed that the author and illustrator made some unnecessary changes to the original story. ( )

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series, but if this one is anything to go by, they’re a great way to introduce very young readers to Anne of Green Gables. This one is a very short, illustrated treatment of Anne at school, so as you might guess, it centers around the “carrots” episode and its aftermath. It retains some of the original dialogue and thoughts, but is pared down to be easily read in just a few minutes.

Though I think LM Montgomery’s work is pretty accessible even to young readers, I could see a place for this if a child is not quite ready for long chapter books. The stories and the characters are so timeless that I think it’s lovely to introduce them to a child as soon as possible!

The illustrations were very nice for the most part, but... something’s happened to Matthew in the pictures. He’s turned hipster or something. It’s rather humorous.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this Advance Review Copy. ( )

I love Anne of Green Gables so when Netgalley had this early chapter book retelling up, I grabbed a digital arc! I loved the simple retelling of some of Anne's adventures with school and Gilbert Blythe. The pictures are adorably beautiful. It would make a lovely addition to a home library.

This is just one of a series of books that breaks the original Anne of Green Gables books into easier to read sections. This is written as an early chapter book and the reader gets to be part of my favorite scene, where Anne breaks the slate over Gilbert's head. Unlike other “shortener” series like Great Illustrated Classics, I like how this is broken up. How each different scene is it’s own part of the series and can be read as an independent book. ( )