Checking Availibility...Description
Growing up in the shadow of the Great War, Anne finds comfort in her neighbourhood library, where she loses herself in books, often imagining herself as part of the story. She particularly loves the books of LM Montgomery -- and her imagination really takes off when she learns her beloved author is in town.
Author Catherine Little was inspired to write
this book after discovering, from the journals
of L.M.Montgomery, that Montgomery had
once visited her Toronto neighbourhood.
About this Author
CATHERINE LITTLE is an educator, consultant, and writer with a love of children's picture books. She especially enjoys reading her stories to families and has shared her work at schools, libraries and special venues such as the Ontario Science Centre, Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill is Catherine's fourth picture book. She lives in Toronto, Ontario with her husband and son.
SAE KIMURA is an artist and illustrator originally from Odawara, Japan, now working and exhibiting her art in Toronto and elsewhere. Her artwork can be found in many galleries and private collections. Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill is her third collaboration with Catherine Little following Dragon's Dilemma and Twelve in a Race.
Reviews
"Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill is an engaging tribute to L.M. Montgomery. The narrative imaginatively recounts a young girl coming to terms with a great loss through her love of reading. Devoted to the Wychwood Library, or the "Library-on-the-Hill, as she calls it, Anne allows her imagination to soar as she enters the world of books, especially her cherished L.M. Montgomery books. Readers will be swept away by the moving story and evocative details of a special time in history. Skillfully written by Catherine Little and beautifully illustrated by Sae Kimura, Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill will quickly become a favourite of adults and children alike."
Isobel Lang, Librarian
"A brilliant little tale with scope for the imagination! Inspired by the Ontario diaries of L.M. Montgomery. Catherine Little weaves a tapestry of fiction and historical events. Book-loving Anne-of-the-library-on-the-Hill surmounts her sorrow after an encounter with Anne of Green Gables and Anne's creator. Beautifully depicted by Sae Kimura's gentle & imaginative illustrations, this Anne surely would be one of your kindred spirits."
Yuka Kajihara, Honorary Chair of Lucy Maud Montgomery Society in Ontario
Catherine Little's delightful story shares her love for Anne and L.M. Montgomery with young readers. It's obvious Anne of Green Gables and the other worlds of L.M. Montgomery hold a place dear to her heart through reading the lovely text. I love how interspersed with the narrative are quotes from many of L.M. Montgomery's beloved stories to intrigue readers and perhaps send them searching for the stories of P.E.I...Sae Kimura's illustrations are so perfect for this story. They are very evocative of the descriptions in L.M. Montgomery's books and add beauty to the text. I love how colourful and vibrant they are with the feeling of being transported back in time through watercolour and pencil crayon drawings.
Stephanie Lamb, Storytime with Stephanie
Catherine Little intersperses her story with known experiences from Montgomery's life including her friendship with Mary Beal and attending an event that included Nellie McClung. By borrowing elements of Anne of Green Gables to feed her story of Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, Catherine Little pays homage to the much beloved story while giving us a whole new story. If you didn't know about Anne of Green Gables -though Catherine Little provides plenty of background information about Anne and L. M. Montgomery to get you caught up-this Anne and her library and her life would still captivate.
The art of Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill has been created by Sae Kimura, who also illustrated Catherine Little's earlier books, Twelve in a Race and Dragon's Dilemma. Using a variety of media, including acrylic, gouache, watercolour, and pencil crayon, Toronto's Sae Kimura gives an ethereal sense to Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, which works well for a story set in the mid-late 1910s to early 1920s. The reality of Anne's life is never in question but the richness of her imagination and passion for life is always evident, in the colours of her surroundings, in the brightness of her reading, and the joy she derives from being with her father, visiting the library, and more.
Celebrate Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery by reading a picture book that honours both while creating something that is wholly its own. With Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, Catherine Little and Sae Kimura remind us of the anchor that reading can be in a child's life and also the pillar that Anne of Green Gables is in both the CanLit world and internationally.
Helen Kubiw, Canlit for Little Canadians
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