Pollyanna: (Illustrated)

I saw the Disney movie many u years ago when I was young. I have shared it with my children. Now, my 9-year-old daughter are delighted to be discovering together the novel on which the movie was based. It is a gripping story replete with wisdom sorely needed today.

I saw the Disney movie many u years ago when I was young. I have shared it with my children. Now, my 9-year-old daughter are delighted to be discovering together the novel on which the movie was based. It is a gripping story replete with wisdom sorely needed today.

Pollyanna is a gripping book that will make you smile. It is a worth while read that you won't put down. Pollyanna even taught me to play the game in times of boredom, as it is hard to call trouble more than a small obstacle after reading this book.

Pollyanna is an endearing character who is determined to make a difference in her community. She is successful and changes the lives of the townsfolk. Read Pollyanna to your children to show them what you can achieve with a kind and loving heart.

I read quite a lot and must say the Pollyanna books are the best I've read in a long time. Will read them again and again. I expected a child's story but was mistaken. This fiction is for all ages. Such a pure story.

The book was easy to read. A good book to read to unwind or past the time with. A book you could put down and pick up to start reading again without having to go back & reread to get back into the story.

I had never read the book and had only seen the movie with Haley Mills. Definitely in the vein of the classic orphan stories but with a slightly different perspective. Nice read and wonderful that it's a free kindle version.

My daughter enjoyed this book. We got it especially to the information about the glad game.

Be aware that the book is different then the two movie version that are out there.
Great read for a 4th or 5th grade girl.

My daughter did say she like Heidi better though.

The GLAD GAME is one that should be paid forward once people learn how to play it, it would be my pleasure to teach my sons, even though they are 27, 21 and 13. I'm glad this book came to my hands in this moment .
Im convinced this is the beginning of something good and sweet.

This book is very child friendly and very adorable. The problem is that they act as if God is some cosmic force instead of a living Heavenly Father whom loves us and cares for us. For instance, Aunt Polly goes to church out of "duty" rather than a love for God, His word and His people. There are some of the characters that see a personal God, but a lot don't. I hope you will enjoy this child's classic!

The GLAD GAME is one that should be paid forward once people learn how to play it, it would be my pleasure to teach my sons, even though they are 27, 21 and 13. I'm glad this book came to my hands in this moment .
Im convinced this is the beginning of something good and sweet.

This book is very child friendly and very adorable. The problem is that they act as if God is some cosmic force instead of a living Heavenly Father whom loves us and cares for us. For instance, Aunt Polly goes to church out of "duty" rather than a love for God, His word and His people. There are some of the characters that see a personal God, but a lot don't. I hope you will enjoy this child's classic!

Rebecca Burns kills this beloved classic with her dull, lifeless, monotone reading. After listening for 5 minutes, my 12 year old daughter's immediate reaction was: "Whoever's reading this sounds like she's really not interested in the story at all! The voice sounds like a computerized voice."

If you want this story on audio, find another version with a different reader.

I was disapointed with the book because I had to do a review on it for college, but there was no information about the author, the publisher, and when/where the book was published. Otherwise the print was clear and easy to read.

(Written by my 10 year old daughter for a class assignment)

I think other kids would enjoy reading Pollyanna because it is a story that has mystery, inspiration and is very realistic. Like people in real life, the characters have personalities and emotions. I would LOVE to be friends with Pollyanna!

Now about the story. When Pollyanna’s mother and father die she gets sent to live with her Aunt Polly. There she meets many people and teaches them about her glad game. The glad game is a game where Pollyanna finds all the good stuff in her life. When she gets hit by a car and learns she might never walk, Pollyanna is determined to find the bright side.

I would definitely recommend this book because I found it very inspiring. It encourages you to always find the bright side.

Characters: Pollyanna: a cheerful 11 year old girl. Aunt Poll: Pollyanna’s stern aunt. Nancy: Aunt Polly’s
housemaid. Mrs. Snow: an invalid neighbor. Dr. Warron: the doctor who goes to Pollyanna.

I hope this review helped you!

I've always thought of a "Pollyanna" as a sort of dopey, simple, eternally optimistic, blind, illogical doofus, with no firm grip on reality. I think that's more or less the generally accepted meaning of the description now.

Well guess what? The original Pollyanna in this book is a tough, spunky, focused and extremely alert little girl with a strong will and good clear instincts. Her "glad game", which she plays to turn bad news and punishments into good news, is a powerful mechanism for coping with the dismal outlines of her constrained and depressing life situation.

Her spirit and her will to prevail carry her and those she meets to happy and deserved endings.

Like Anne of Green Gables and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyanna is an unjustly neglected and fascinating character, as real and compelling now as in 1913. This is a real find and should not be dismissed out of hand, which is a mistake I would have made had I not resolved to read and fairly weigh everything, even books I assumed were lame. Give this surprising find a try.

For the past couple of years, Hesperus Press has been releasing Andrew Lang's Fairy Books in beautiful hardcover editions. I only recently discovered their paperback editions of children's books from the past that should never have went out of print. Some of these titles include Tanglewood Tales, The Wouldbegoods, The Lost Prince, and many other wonderful titles. Today, I am reviewing Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up by Eleanor H. Porter.

I first learned of the character Pollyanna in my childhood thanks to Walt Disney and the child actress Hayley Mills. It wouldn't be until years later that I realized they were actually books. For those unfamiliar with the character and first book, Pollyanna Whittier is an orphan who goes to live with her Aunt Polly. Aunt Polly can best be described as a spinster (negative a term as that may be), and Pollyanna is an eternal optimist, a trait/philosophical outlook that her father instilled in her. This outlook is also referred to as "The Glad Game," where you find something to be glad about in every situation. The book focuses on this game and Pollyanna sharing her outlook with others and transforming them from negative people to more positive people...even her Aunt Polly. However, it wouldn't be much of a book without a conflict or setback, and it comes in the form of Pollyanna losing the use of her legs. This puts Pollyanna's outlook to the ultimate test, as it is hard to be glad about losing the use of one's legs. It is the people whose lives that she touched and changed who help her get through this temporary hardship. Yes, temporary, because she does eventually learn to walk again.

Pollyanna Grows Up is one of many sequels to Pollyanna, but it is the only one written by the original author, Eleanor H. Porter. For that reason, it is the only official sequel in my book. The book essentially starts off where the original left off. Pollyanna's legs are cured and she has traveled to Boston. Her "Glad Game" is still going strong as she meets an ex-convict and helps save a young woman. She also meets several boys/young men here and winds up with three potential suitors. We flash forward to her at the age of 20 years old and having returned from Europe. Like the first book, she faces difficulties, but these seem a bit more dire and put her "Glad Game" to real tests. There is death and financial hardships and the consequences of friendship and romance and how they intermingle or fail to and create hard feelings. The book ends happy, but I won't tell you who she ends up with. You'll have to read that to find out.

These two books are primarily aimed at girls, but are charming and good wholesome reads which are suitable for the whole family. We are living in a dystopian world of literature at the moment, so it is nice to read something with natural optimism and just general cheer. We could use more books like this being published presently, so I am thankful that Hesperus Press has done just that. If you are a fan of the Little House series, you will like these two books. May we all try and look on the bright side of things like Pollyanna, and we might end up making the world a better place.

when I was in grade five, I developed a habbet of looking for something to go wrong whenever I was doing a task or waiting for a CD from the store to turn up. my visiting teacher, Ms Kelly McConkey of the Vision Impairment Services brought along this book to teach me a great lesson which I've ignored all these years. last week at my Uncle's place, I read this on MP3 book from YouTube. the "Glad Game" began when Pollyanna wanted a doll in the mitionary barrel, but sadly, crutches were donated. Pollyanna's view on this situation was negative, but her father told her she can be glad because she doesn't need them. she can still walk. ever since, they've been playing this so called "Glad Game" until he passed away and gave her to her Aunt Ms Polly, but not the woman who had the dolly who was sick. Pollyanna was told to keep the windows shut because fly screnes were on the way. do you think she was waiting for Peteatra, the FedEx lady to bring them? they were late, just like my so called "the store Package" which I ordered, a dermer roller, lost in transet. if I were Pollyanna and was waiting on the the store package I ordered my Mum, I can say "well at least it wasn't my CD's. at least the dermer roller isn't mine. it doesn't have any baring weather I get it or not. I still have my new CD's, and I got them on my birthday!". as a result of the late screnes, she opens up the window, unaware, and flies came buzzing into the room. as a punishment, Aunt Polly instructed to read a book on flies and how they carry "little things on their feat". she loves reading, so considered it a great lesson. she learns to cook and sew. she is late for supper one night and is told to eat bread and milk, which she didn't care. she turns her Aunt into a nasty strict old lady into a charming young lady with that glad game which she refused to talk about because it came from father. in the end, Aunt Polly marries Dr Chilton, the doctor who cured her broken leg. the book ends with a happy letter from PollyAnna, stating how she walked six steps and will walk eight steps tomorrow. ever since my weekend at Uncle Clayton's, I've thought of situations to be glad for. for example, Clayton could come up to me and see an the store parcel lying loosely under my desk which I had opened earlier this week. behind his back, I ordered some CD's. if he finds out and bans me from pot as a result of me ordering on the store without going through the system correctly, I can be glad still because pot is bad for you. even better, these CD's didn't take much of a long time to arrive at all. I was sure they weren't going to be available to download. my sister tried. I tried and didn't get the sound quality I wanted and songs I wanted that were on those CD's, so Mum as a birthday present gave me permission to order them. last month, my sister downloaded me the Move Anthology 1966- 1972 box set from Iso Hunt. I was making up a song about Shantell Marvelio and my sister misunderstood and accused me of singing the song about her. her name is Chelsea and Shantell and Chelsea both have "el" or "ell" in their names. I apologised, missed out and went to the store. half an hour later, I realised "Open Up Said the world At the Door" was not included. I went and ordered the out of print "Movements" box set. if Chelsea downloaded the Anthology set, I wouldn't have had that song I was hoping for. bad situation: couldn't download the Move Anthology box set. Pollyannaish view: well, I have the nice collector's box set, 68 page booklet and a chance the postcards would be included. to top it all off, it isn't MP3's, it's the original CD, so I get better sound quality! I also get "Open Up Said the World at the Door", by buying "Movements" and a nice cover of "Zing! Went the Strings Of My Heart". from now on, whenever I want to freak out about an the store CD on the way, I will always think of Pollyanna. Thank you, Pollyanna. PS: Dennis Yost wrote a Four Seasonish song called "Pollyanna". if you like sixties rock and roll, give it a listen. I think it is about this girl.

I've always thought of a "Pollyanna" as a sort of dopey, simple, eternally optimistic, blind, illogical doofus, with no firm grip on reality. I think that's more or less the generally accepted meaning of the description now.

Well guess what? The original Pollyanna in this book is a tough, spunky, focused and extremely alert little girl with a strong will and good clear instincts. Her "glad game", which she plays to turn bad news and punishments into good news, is a powerful mechanism for coping with the dismal outlines of her constrained and depressing life situation.

Her spirit and her will to prevail carry her and those she meets to happy and deserved endings.

Like Anne of Green Gables and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyanna is an unjustly neglected and fascinating character, as real and compelling now as in 1913. This is a real find and should not be dismissed out of hand, which is a mistake I would have made had I not resolved to read and fairly weigh everything, even books I assumed were lame. Give this surprising find a try.

I've always thought of a "Pollyanna" as a sort of dopey, simple, eternally optimistic, blind, illogical doofus, with no firm grip on reality. I think that's more or less the generally accepted meaning of the description now.

Well guess what? The original Pollyanna in this book is a tough, spunky, focused and extremely alert little girl with a strong will and good clear instincts. Her "glad game", which she plays to turn bad news and punishments into good news, is a powerful mechanism for coping with the dismal outlines of her constrained and depressing life situation.

Her spirit and her will to prevail carry her and those she meets to happy and deserved endings.

Like Anne of Green Gables and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyanna is an unjustly neglected and fascinating character, as real and compelling now as in 1913. This is a real find and should not be dismissed out of hand, which is a mistake I would have made had I not resolved to read and fairly weigh everything, even books I assumed were lame. Give this surprising find a try.

An entertaining sequel to 'Pollyanna', full of characters from the first book, including Aunt Polly, John Pendleton and Jimmy Bean, who is now Jimmy Pendleton.

In the first half of the book, Pollyanna is sent to stay with Mrs Ruth Carew, a lady in deep depression because her beloved little nephew was taken away by his eccentric father. Even though her brother-in-law has passed away, little Jamie's whereabouts are still unknown. These days he'd be on the missing person files. Ruth can't bear not knowing whether he's suffering, or even dead.

There in Boston, Pollyanna continues her tradition of helping people transform their lives, including Jamie, a crippled boy in a wheelchair, who might even turn out to be Mrs Carew's lost nephew. Although Jamie plays his own version of Pollyanna's 'Game', he's not as good at it as she is. Possibly because he seems to have the typecast despondent, creative temperament of a literary author.

In the second half, Pollyanna is in her early twenties. Jamie and Jimmy have grown up too, of course, so there is plenty of romance in the air. Aunt Polly is now a widow, and back to her crabby old self. All sorts of lovers' tangles and mix-ups take place. There were so many, "So-and-so is madly in love with So-and-So's" which were way off track, while it's probably clear to every reader how the three couples are going to end up being paired off.

Pollyanna turns out to be a very dutiful girl, who will defer to her elders when it comes to choosing a spouse. It's a dated outlook (thankfully), which I doubt modern young readers would go for or understand. She ends up with the man her heart chooses, but only after clearing it with Aunt Polly, then Uncle John first! It wasn't easy.

There are a few loose ends, which tighter, more modern editing might have addressed. When the identity of Ruth's nephew is finally revealed, nobody seems to think of telling her sister, Della the nurse, who surely deserved to know the truth as much as Ruth. It bothered me that she wasn't on the very small list of people who would learn the secret.

Still, it was a very enjoyable read and I was glad Pollyanna ended up with the guy who was perfect for her, which says a lot for him, as Pollyanna is such a super-heroine. If I'd been Pollyanna, I would have been tempted to rub it in with Aunt Polly. But being Pollyanna, and being a wholesome nineteenth century plot, she found a way to please her aunt and get her man at the same time.

Pollyanna, a precocious orphaned girl, comes to live with her strict aunt in this 1913 classic novel. Aunt Polly and the town of Beldingsville has no idea what is in store! Pollyanna makes friends with great alacrity, even with some of the most taciturn people in town. She teaches people to play the Glad Game, which is finding something to be glad about even in the most dire circumstances. The literal nature of Pollyanna allows for plenty of humorous misunderstandings, and some assumptions on the part of others keep a bit of mystery going through the plot. Even Pollyanna's eternal cheerfulness is challenged when an accident leaves her future in jeopardy.

For the past couple of years, Hesperus Press has been releasing Andrew Lang's Fairy Books in beautiful hardcover editions. I only recently discovered their paperback editions of children's books from the past that should never have went out of print. Some of these titles include Tanglewood Tales, The Wouldbegoods, The Lost Prince, and many other wonderful titles. Today, I am reviewing Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up by Eleanor H. Porter.

I first learned of the character Pollyanna in my childhood thanks to Walt Disney and the child actress Hayley Mills. It wouldn't be until years later that I realized they were actually books. For those unfamiliar with the character and first book, Pollyanna Whittier is an orphan who goes to live with her Aunt Polly. Aunt Polly can best be described as a spinster (negative a term as that may be), and Pollyanna is an eternal optimist, a trait/philosophical outlook that her father instilled in her. This outlook is also referred to as "The Glad Game," where you find something to be glad about in every situation. The book focuses on this game and Pollyanna sharing her outlook with others and transforming them from negative people to more positive people...even her Aunt Polly. However, it wouldn't be much of a book without a conflict or setback, and it comes in the form of Pollyanna losing the use of her legs. This puts Pollyanna's outlook to the ultimate test, as it is hard to be glad about losing the use of one's legs. It is the people whose lives that she touched and changed who help her get through this temporary hardship. Yes, temporary, because she does eventually learn to walk again.

Pollyanna Grows Up is one of many sequels to Pollyanna, but it is the only one written by the original author, Eleanor H. Porter. For that reason, it is the only official sequel in my book. The book essentially starts off where the original left off. Pollyanna's legs are cured and she has traveled to Boston. Her "Glad Game" is still going strong as she meets an ex-convict and helps save a young woman. She also meets several boys/young men here and winds up with three potential suitors. We flash forward to her at the age of 20 years old and having returned from Europe. Like the first book, she faces difficulties, but these seem a bit more dire and put her "Glad Game" to real tests. There is death and financial hardships and the consequences of friendship and romance and how they intermingle or fail to and create hard feelings. The book ends happy, but I won't tell you who she ends up with. You'll have to read that to find out.

These two books are primarily aimed at girls, but are charming and good wholesome reads which are suitable for the whole family. We are living in a dystopian world of literature at the moment, so it is nice to read something with natural optimism and just general cheer. We could use more books like this being published presently, so I am thankful that Hesperus Press has done just that. If you are a fan of the Little House series, you will like these two books. May we all try and look on the bright side of things like Pollyanna, and we might end up making the world a better place.

I read and enjoyed this book when I was little, and recently decided to pick it up again. It is a very cute and inspiring book, filled with bits of humor.
Pollyanna is a young orphaned girl who goes to live with her wealthy and very stern Aunt Polly who isn't fond of children and only agreed to look after Pollyanna because she felt it was her duty. But Pollyanna soon fills the once lonely old house with charm and light with her continually optimistic attitude, her cheerfully loquacious tongue, and the kindness and love of her heart.
Though Aunt Polly at first thinks Pollyanna is as ridiculous as her name, she soon begins to feel warmth and gladness spring into her heart- things she hasn't felt in ages.
Soon not only Aunt Polly, but nearly all the residents in Beldingsville come to appreciate the presence of Pollyanna as she is always helping others and inspiring the best in people with her 'glad game' (finding something in every situation to be glad about).
The tragedy that befalls Pollyanna brings extreme sorrow to the whole town, but even in this most difficult time Pollyanna manages to continue playing the glad game and bring miraculous changes to people's lives, and she and Aunt Polly are brought closer to each other than ever.
Overall this is a very nice, clean book, good for all ages. If there was just one thing I didn't care for in this book, it's the amount of touchy-feeliness that goes on. I don't know how many times people's eyes are brimming with tears, or their voices are unsteady and husky, or their faces flush from red to white to red again (come on, does that ever actually happen in real life?), and this includes men too. But of course that's no big deal, and I won't lower my rating because of it.
If you enjoyed Anne of Green Gables, then I recommend you read this book. It's good! Now time for me to go read the sequels. :) ^

I've read Pollyanna several times, but this was my first time listening to an audio version. Aside from finding Nancy's habitual repetition of phrases more annoying to hear than read, I liked it fine.

Pollyanna may seem too perfect by today's standards, but for when the book was originally written, she wasn't. That she would climb down a tree, bang doors, and wander about the village on her own made her close to what we used to call a "tomboy," so please keep that in mind if you're not familiar with early 20th century children's literature. (I grew up on old books as well as new.)

It's also not fair to judge John Pendleton by what we know about child abusers today. It's clear, from the dialogue, that Mr. Pendleton has no interest in using Pollyanna as a substitute for her late mother. If Jenny had married John, Pollyanna would have been his daughter. He wants only to give her a [good] father's love and receive a daughter's love from her.

Pollyanna and her "glad game" are still good things to learn about. It is all too easy to see only the dark side of life. Pollyanna doesn't just look for things to be glad about. If something is wrong, she strives to make it better -- and she doesn't give up if she doesn't succeed the first time.

Aunt Polly may consider herself a good woman who knows her duty, but we readers know better. For a woman who calls herself a Christian, she lacks the true spirit. How she treats Pollyanna in the beginning is proof of that. I love the way she learns about how much true good her young niece has been doing about town. Polly is rich, but Pollyanna does better for the locals with her smiles, words, cheerful personality, and sincere interest in their welfare in the months since she came to live with Aunt Polly than her aunt has done in her entire life.

I agree that it's too bad that Pollyanna's name has become an insult. I think if more persons knew what she's really like, the name would be a compliment.

The first time I heard of Pollyanna was the Disney movie by that name starring Hayley Mills. I fell in love with this story. I remember reading a abridged version of the book and felt really disappointed in it. I loved the movie so much and the book just wasn't the same. All the old Disney movies changed the story to make what they considered a better plot for a movie. I have noticed that in some of their other movies based on books. I still love the movie and have probably watched it 50 times, but thought it was time to give the original book due consideration. This time, reading the unabridged version, I found it every bit as charming as the movie, just in different ways. I have also read the sequel, "Pollyanna Grows Up". I enjoyed that as well, but perhaps not as much as the first book when Pollyanna was a young girl. I found that to be true for the "Anne of Green Gabels" books as well. The older version of the girls just aren't as much fun as the younger versions - to me. I highly recommend this book to any young girl - whatever your age!

This book deserves its position as a children's classic.

The little orphan girl, Pollyanna, is sent to live with her gruff Aunt Polly after the death of her father. What a potential set-up for a sad life outlook, but she manages to transform not only her aunt but many other townspeople with the 'Glad Game' her father taught her. Always look for the silver lining in every cloud and you'll be bound to find it.

I've noticed Pollyanna has been given a bit of a bum rap in recent years. She's almost always poked fun at as an unnaturally, over-the-top optimist, and very rarely do people point us to her as an example of how to live our lives. I think people assume that she refuses to acknowledge the bad side of life at all, choosing to live in a delusional world of denial. Most people probably haven't read the book. That's off track.

Pollyanna doesn't deny the bad. She just chooses to accentuate the positive, which seems a healthy way to live. So many people who acknowledge the benefits of that attitude are the same people who say, "I'm not suggesting that you become a Pollyanna." As a matter of fact, I believe they are.

There are other characters with good supporting roles. Aunt Polly was surely a product of the austere nineteenth century. Surely not many modern ladies would ever become such sourpusses. I like the laugh we got when Pollyanna asked Mr John Pendleton if she could see the skeleton in his closet. And one of my favourite scenes is one which Pollyanna wasn't even in. It's when little Jimmy Bean goes to explain to Aunt Polly why she must let Dr Chilton see Pollyanna.

If you follow modern labels, she's obviously one of those sunny, sanguine children, a true extrovert who gets her energy from rubbing shoulders with other people. But even those of us who are introverts and more on the melancholic or phlegmatic scale can take on board the main theme of Pollyanna in our own way.

I've always thought of a "Pollyanna" as a sort of dopey, simple, eternally optimistic, blind, illogical doofus, with no firm grip on reality. I think that's more or less the generally accepted meaning of the description now.

Well guess what? The original Pollyanna in this book is a tough, spunky, focused and extremely alert little girl with a strong will and good clear instincts. Her "glad game", which she plays to turn bad news and punishments into good news, is a powerful mechanism for coping with the dismal outlines of her constrained and depressing life situation.

Her spirit and her will to prevail carry her and those she meets to happy and deserved endings.

Like Anne of Green Gables and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyanna is an unjustly neglected and fascinating character, as real and compelling now as in 1913. This is a real find and should not be dismissed out of hand, which is a mistake I would have made had I not resolved to read and fairly weigh everything, even books I assumed were lame. Give this surprising find a try.

Eleven-year-old orphan Pollyanna Whittier is dutifully taken in by her wealthy spinster aunt, Polly Harrington. Soon Pollyanna is changing the whole town with her sparkling personality and the glad game. When Pollyanna is injured and just can’t bring herself to be glad about anything, everyone rallies around her telling her why they are glad so she can share in their joy just as they’ve been sharing in hers.

I love Pollyanna. I’ve always related to her. Pollyanna is a lovely, happy book. Everything turns out just perfect in the end. I highly recommend it to people of all ages.

I've just finished a re-read of Eleanor Porter's "Pollyanna," which apparently I had read a number of times when I was younger, because I remembered every single little aspect of the plot. I suppose many people already have at least a passing familiarity with this tale, which was first published in 1912 and has been reprinted many times since then, as well as having been adapted for the screen on numerous occasions.

I confess, I was surprised at how well this story held up when read through adult eyes. Oh, it's rather sentimental, true enough, but perhaps I'm not as jaded as I would like to think I am because some of the sentimental/emotional passages totally did a number on me!

Obviously this book has staying power, though the dozen-plus sequels that followed (written by a number of various authors) have long since faded from the public's memory. To the best of my recollection, the first Pollyanna book is far superior to those that followed, but I still wouldn't call it perfect. The "plucky orphan" character has long been a staple of children's literature and has appeared in many guises throughout the years, but immediately after I started reading the book I got a very strong "Anne of Green Gables" vibe, "Anne" having been published four years previously to the first printing of this story. This feeling of déjà vu continued on and off throughout the novel, and I couldn't help but wonder if Porter was influenced by Maud Montgomery's work.

Despite a number of interesting little sub-plots, the narrative of Pollyanna is rather loose and episodic, and I think I would have liked to see all the story elements woven together more completely. I also noted that a handful of key scenes were played off-stage, and only referred to by the characters in passing, which seemed a bit odd to me.

But, I suppose the primary problem I have with Pollyanna is the heroine herself. She's just TOO good, TOO sweet, TOO everlastingly charming and upbeat to be the least bit believable. Now, I wouldn't say that she is OFFENSIVELY good---unlike the horribly sanctimonious Elsie Dinsmore (a favourite Victorian child heroine), Pollyanna doesn't preach to the other characters or give the impression that she's morally superior to everyone else. But Pollyanna didn't come across as a natural little girl for me; she pales not only into insignificance, but into invisibility, in comparison to the marvellous Anne Shirley of the "Green Gables" books. In addition, I would say that Pollyanna's general naïveté might have a certain charm in a child half her age, but in a ten- or eleven-year-old character, it just seems a bit odd. I don't want to sound too mean-spirited, but you'd almost think that she has some sort of developmental disability. So, the portrayal of the main character is kind of a major drawback to the novel.

Still, despite a somewhat mixed review, I'm going to recommend this story; I think at least some young people of today would enjoy it, though obviously it will probably have more appeal to young girls than to young boys. And if you have even a passing interest in vintage children's literature, this book should be read at least once, as it's been so iconic in the field of American juvenile lit. I'll give it four stars, with the high rating due in part to the nostalgia factor, since I did enjoy this very much when I was young.

(You know, from my youthful reading I remember Aunt Polly as being very old in this book---so imagine my surprise to learn that the character is actually five years younger than I am at present. Man, I am so totally depressed now...)

This book has been published in many varying editions over the years (including an abridged paperback version for the school market, sold by Scholastic). The copy I've just read is the same one that I had as a child, published by The Page Company in 1914. (I'll upload some photos of this book to the store's database.) It really is a lovely edition, and I would recommend this particular version if you can find it. The boards are covered in a green patterned cloth that catches the light in different ways, depending on the angle you look at it. Tilt it one way and you'll see a diamond pattern of light fleur-de-lis on a dark background, tilt again and it's dark fleur-de-lis over stripes, tilt again and you'll mostly see just the stripes, tilt again and the light stripes turn dark and the dark stripes turn light----okay, okay---you get the idea I'm sure! Now, I know there must be a name for this sort of material---but I know almost nothing about fabric and so can't describe it using the correct terminology.

This edition also has eight illustrations tipped in; full-page black-and-white paintings printed on glossy paper. This once again reminds me that it's a real shame so few juvenile titles contain pictures in the present day---these are quite nice.

Be aware that this is not a longer version of the movie script as happens with most movies, tho the movie script is an adaptation and often quotes the book. Be aware that some of the things that happen to Pollyanna happened differently in the book and not just 'somewhat differently'. It's still a wonderful read and I'm reading the sequel now that I know there is one! I always thought it was sad to end the movie the way they did in just a 'hopeful way' you never knew so if you ever loved the movie you'll want to read and find out what happens to her! If you haven't seen the Disney movie version, with Haley Mills, please do!

The author uses local slang-speak heavily in her writing so be prepared to read through lots of apostrophe's. I found that curious because when I think of the movie I always think of how posh and how well spoken Aunt Polly is and that Pollyanna was as well. There is some relationship intrigue in the book not found in the movie though I'm curious now if the sequel will contain some of the content of the movie that wasn't in the first book.

A quick and fun read, perfect for light reading on a trip. The message of: 'The Glad Game' is still a wonderful outlook to have to get through life's difficulties. I had no idea how how much it had shaped me when I was young into my now 'find the silver lining in everything' personality, until I read the book. I'd say thank you to the author - if I could.

While I was a child, I first saw Disney's version of Pollyanna with Hayley Mills. It was a very popular film among my age group. I purchased the DVD on the store and read the reviews. I was quite startled when I realized the several of the reviewers HATED the Disney film.

The general theme of the criticism focused on a comparison of the book to the film. As in most cases, the reviewers noted that the book was MUCH better than the film. As a result, I read the book and I must agree. The storyline in the novel is much more powerful than the film. The book is much less melodramatic. The characters in the book unfold in a more realistic manner. In the book, Mrs. Snow is a secondary character while Mr. Pendleton is vital to the story. Jimmy Bean's character is VERY minor in the book. He is not a tree climber as suggested in the film. Pollyanna is the tree climber and is too skilled to fall from a tree.

It is a wonderful book to read to a daughter! However, watching the film with a daughter is also a good experience. We can talk about comparing the film to the book!!

Newly-orphaned ten-year-old Pollyanna is sent to live with a stern aunt in a distant town. Aunt Polly forbids her to mention her dead father's name and treats her like an unwanted poor relation--which is precisely what she is. At least Nancy, the kindly housekeeper, treats the lonely child with compassion. But Pollyanna has learned from her father to make lemonade out of life's lemons; she tries to be cheerful despite drawbacks and dealings with mean or sour adults. Without realizing it the little girl offers hope and cheer to others in town--in her charming, unsophisticated manner. Soon
the Glad Game is being played by her neighbors--adults as well as children--for light and joy bubble forth from her.

Tragedy strikes when Pollyanna is struck by an automobile and becomes crippled. The town rallies to her support and even stern Aunt Polly--harboring some secret grudge from the past--unbends to prove more human than previously demonstrated. The 1913 style, when radios were newly in fashion, is quaint by today's standards, but the spirit of optimism, almost overdone, provides a valuable lesson. We cannot control what happens to us--only how we react to those events; thus, this charming story offers gentle spiritual guidance without being preachy. Truly an American classic for kids of all ages.

This was a rather ok book. The first book was far better than this one. In my opinion it was far to predictable. Though there was a few sweet scenes, in my opinion they do not outway the predictiveness. If you are planning on reading the book, please do not continue reading this review, or else it will spoil the book.

In my opinion, it is rather obvious that Jimmy will be the long lost Jamie. There are far to many hints, such as the lady asking if she had met Jimmy before, and Mr. Pendlton saying that Jimmy's original name was Jamie. Also, all the love in the book was a little overwhelmong an too much, from my view for a children's book. Overall, I would give it 3 stars. The first book was better, getting 4 stats from me.

Pollyanna, published in 1913, became an instant classic when it was first published, selling over one million copies within months. The books is still popular today among elementary and high school students. I enjoyed this classic even after the ninety-two years since it was published.

I'm guessing the readers out there already have a basic foundation of what Pollyanna is about, so I'm going to explain some things that other reviewers that gave this classic a low rating failed to mention.

1) The ignorant reviewers seem to think that the character Pollyanna was too similar to Anne Shirley (a character I loved). Well, this may be true BUT, the majority of female characters from the early 1900's were your Annes and Pollyanna, perky young girls who tried to look on the bright side of everything.

2) An assumingly young reviewercomplained of the books spelling. Well, by the time I finished reading your review, I was thinking "digraceful".

I just don't know what these people have aggainst Pollyanna. Yes she's kinda like Anne, but personally I found her to be more interesting. But then again, I haven't read "Anne" since the fourth grade.

I would recommend Pollyanna for ages 8-12 (And up) and Anne of Green Gables for ages 12 and up. I encourage you to check both of these books out.

R

For most of 70-something years, I've heard about Pollyanna, and during the last forty or fifty of those, I heard the word used in a perjorative, mocking, cynical tone. At a county library book sale, I picked up both Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up for a quarter each. These copies originally belonged to some young girl who, like most girls do, wrote her name and address in flourishes. I determined not to be ignorant of the real deal any longer, so I read half of it late one evening, staying up past midnight. Like a child, I couldn't wait to finish it, so the next night, I continued, turning the last page at twenty minutes after midnight. All lucky, beautiful, well-fed, well-rounded, well-dressed, well-loved, aged ten-going-on-eleven girls who "hate" their lives, would be well served to be acquainted with Pollyanna. I intend to offer the book to my granddaughter, one of those described above.

Call me an overly-sensitive sap, but I think Pollyanna is a wonderful story. While it may not be "great literature," its optimistic, silver-lining-on-every-cloud message is inspiring, valuable, and timeless. Pollyanna demonstrates the "proactivity" described in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: namely that you have the power and the freedom to choose your response in any given situation. As human beings, we have the ability to choose to not be controlled by our circumstances; happiness is a choice. Granted, constant happiness is not realistic, and Pollyanna experiences challenges that would bring anyone down, and we see her humanity when she loses her ability to see the silver lining. I can see how cynical people would complain about how unrealistic the book is, but it is obviously about an EXCEPTIONAL person, someone we should all strive to emulate; and these exceptional people who can choose, maybe not happiness in every circumstance, but at least to find meaning and a reason and drive to keep living DO EXIST (see the extreme example of Victor Frankl's experience in concentration camps).

I pity the kids whose negative reviews tell me that they've lost their childhood innocence. Maybe the ends are too neatly tied in the end and maybe the characters are cliche, but its sweetness and innocence and the overall inspiring message of optimism make Pollyanna worth reading - and aren't those neatly tied happy endings just so satisfying sometimes? And to those who complain of her similarities to Anne Shirley - what's wrong with that? The story IS different; and we can all stand to benefit from reading more positive, life-affirming, soul-nurturing books.

I've just finished reading "Pollyanna Grows Up," first published in 1915---the follow-up to the wildly popular "Pollyanna," which I had reviewed recently.

No surprise, Pollyanna is back to work her magic once again in this story. Author Eleanor Porter wisely shifts the location of the first half of the book from small-town Vermont to Boston---a change of scene which allows the heroine to ply her charms on an entirely new set of characters. And from the get-go, the story proceeds pretty much as one would expect. That isn't to say it's dull reading---on the contrary, this story totally got to me emotionally----I seem to be a push-over for the sentimental sort of novels that were popular during this time period! However, once again the chief drawback of the novel is the character of Pollyanna herself; she's much, much too innocently sweet to be the tiniest bit believable as a real-life child. Again, she isn't sugary-sweet in a disgusting Elsie Dinsmore fashion, but some realism to the character would have been refreshing and most welcome.

It seems so unkind of me, but I keep thinking that this character appears for all intents and purposes to be mentally challenged, always acting and speaking like she's about half of her supposed age. This tendency fortunately diminishes during the second half of the novel, which takes Pollyanna from the age of 13 to age 20, but unfortunately she doesn't become any more interesting. The tale ends by successfully wrapping up three separate romances, including Pollyanna's own---and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who she ends up with!

And with this novel the author concluded the Pollyanna story. However, after Eleanor Porter's death in 1920 the publisher was only too happy to continue the Pollyanna series with an additional eleven novels. Now, I've been rather dismissive of these sequels in the past, dimly remembering them as being very typical, cookie-cutter series books practically indistinguishable to most other girls' series of the time period. However, after a re-read of the original two Pollyanna stories I can't help but wonder if a grown-up Pollyanna, as written by a different author, might not actually be an enjoyable improvement over the original child character. I have six of the sequels at hand, so at some point I'm going to give them a try to see what I think. I have almost no recollection whatsoever of any of the sequels, from my childhood reading.

I have to say, bits of this story really got to me even as I recognised its shortcomings, and I'll still give it a recommendation to those who are seriously interested in vintage children's literature, are nostalgia buffs---or those who aren't as sarcastic as I usually am. Heh. But honestly----no, I'm not wildly enthusiastic about this book.

My copy (second impression April 1915) is a match to my copy of the first book; it contains eight tipped-in full page black-and-white paintings for the illustrations---very nicely done. And the cover is of the same attractive fabric as that used on the first book (though in this case it's a light blue instead of green)---I've seen one bookseller refer to the boards as being covered in watered silk. I'm including a couple of photos to show how the pattern shifts in the light---it really is a beautiful binding.

I've read Pollyanna several times many years ago.
It is a wonderful story about optimism and finding a silver lining in any situation.
I'm still trying to play "The Glad Game".
I can't and don't expect to live in a moment of total happiness obsession, but
“The Glad Game” can help you focus on what’s right in your world today,
instead of what’s wrong.
It is a sweet story that makes you happy.

This story has such a strange place in my life. Not from the novel initially but from the film starring Mary Pickford (and for the dismissive reviewer comparing Pollyanna to Rebecca and Anne - it's maybe worth noting that Mary Pickford acted in all three stories - I wonder what her view was?). The movie appears to have had great influence in my life - it must have reached me at such a vulnerable moment. Looking back I have no doubt that I have always played the 'glad' game - although I didn't call it that. Did I already have a predisposition for that? Who can say. My life is also littered with so many Annas - Annes, Roseannes, Dianas, Mariannas, Annas ......

Of course all this is about me. When I decided to read the book as a bedtime story to my boys I was dealing with other people's reactions. Perhaps they would find it unengaging, perhaps it would be too dated for them (especially the preachy parts), perhaps they would not be able to identify with the little girl or the different social customs of the days of the novel. But it just wasn't so. They were interested in the novel. Each night when we left off reading they would speculate on what would come next, what we could intimate from the next chapter title. Whether they will take up playing the glad game themselves I couldn't say. Perhaps my reading will be less impressive than Mary Pickford's acting!

Pollyanna was named after her mother(Jenny)'s two sisters Polly and Anna. When Jenny's husband dies and Jenny is already dead Pollyanna has to live with her aunt Polly. Perhaps I missed it but I am really puzzled. What happened to aunt Anna?

Predictable and treacly. But oh-so-enjoyable! You might be, like me, picturing the old Disney story with Haley Mills as Pollyanna, to flesh out the word-pictures, but it is still a cute and fun book. The "glad" game did get a tiny bit tiresome for a bit, but then, like the townsfolk, I too got caught up in it and enjoyed it. A nice read, even for someone over 60, and surely a nice book to give, or to read-to a youngster.

"Pollyanna Grows Up" is the sequel to the 1912 classic, Pollyanna and it is surprisingly just as wonderful as the first. Eleanor H. Porter mantained all the magic of the original novel in this very exciting continuation which takes us far away from our well known town of Beldinsville to the grand City of Boston, where little Miss Pollyanna Whittier arrives to cheer up some new friends.

Fully recovered from her previous automobile accident, Pollyanna returns once again to the city of Boston, in request of her kind nurse, Della Wetherby. This last has a sister by the name of Ruth Carew, who is miserable and depressed as a consequence of a great loss, a young nephew by the name of Jamie who was taken away by his father, the woman's brother-in-law and who was never seen again. Della Wetherby's sorrow was just as grand, but her career as a nurse allows her to forget, while Ruth Carew lives alone in her big house in Commonwealth Avenue with nothing else she does or wants to do but to think of the lost Jamie. However, with her visit, Pollyanna soon changes things around, at first driving Mrs. Carew mad but soon she enters her heart.

Pollyanna finds a lot of new friends in Boston, beginning with the servants in Mrs. Carew's own home, Jerry, a young newspaper selling boy, Jamie, a crippled boy who Pollyanna is sure is the lost "Jamie," and Sadie Dean, a homeless working young girl. In Boston Pollyanna spends most of her time trying to locate Jamie, in desperate hope to please Mrs. Carew, but of this I shall say no more, the surprise twist is for the very reader to discover on his or her own.

The second part of the book may not arrive too welcomed by some readers, like Jimmy 'Bean' Pendenton stated, we readers weren't ready to see little Pollyanna grow up. However, although Miss Pollyanna Whittier has indeed grown up, she has managed to mantain her usual personality, even if some of her more innocent charm is gone. Pollyanna indeed needs her gladness and her famouse Glad Game to be able to survive the terrible dark times that have arrived at the Harrington homestead, where she grew up with the strict, but changed Aunt Polly, who has gone almost back to square one.

In conclusion, if you've enjoyed the first part of this story, then you will definitely enjoy the further adventures of the glad girl and all of her old and new friends. Definitely a great sequel to an unforgettable classic!

I think the Pollyanna novel is a book we should all read and learn from. Life is always hard, and we should be grateful for things that we have. Pollyana, a young girl who has just lost her father, does that in a soft way that encourages people to be glad, without completly condeming them for their bitterness. This "glad game" is not just for kids, its for adults as well.
Being thankful for the little things: family, freedom, and others is important, and we always take that for granted in America. I would recommend that you not listen to the nay-sayers about this noval, they seem like embittered happless people. They don't seem to understand that this book is teaching a vaulable lesson. Overlook them and read the book for yourself, you won't be sorry you did.

What a wonderful little book! I chose to read this because it is a favorite of my sister-in-law's, and I had no idea what a wonderful book it would be. Thank you for a book that literally changes your perspective on life in just a little story.

The story of Pollyanna, the girl of gladness or as later called in the beautifully done anime series from 1986, the girl of love, is a tale of pure wonder that will stay within you forever. This book is for children and grown-ups, for anyone will find the simple beauty of this book, followed by a sequel that was just as wonderful.

After her father's death, the newly-orphaned ten-year-old Pollyanna moves to Beldingsville to live with her strict and dutiful Aunt Polly. In this great new house Pollyanna is at first kept sleeping up in the attic room, for Aunt Polly feels that that is enough for her to accomplish her 'duty.' If not for Old Tom and good, kind house-keeper Nancy, Pollyanna's stay would have been very dull indeed. Although she never realized it, Pollyanna has a great talent, a great gift for gladness. Just by talking she manages to bring life and joy into the lives of her loved ones, and everyone Pollyanna knows is a 'loved one' as she sees it. Little Pollyanna is one day sent to visit the old invalid woman, Mrs. Snow, her illness keeping her in a gloomy room under old bed-sheets. Mrs. Snow is unhappy and hopeless, but soon Pollyanna cheers the woman up with her usual gladness that seems to be very contagious.

At a very young age, Pollyanna was taught by her father a little game, today known as the 'Glad Game.' Being poor and depending on charities to keep alive, Pollyanna and her father received barrels containing supplies and needed things. Pollyanna had wished that one of these would contain a pretty doll, which never arrived, a pair of crutches arrived instead. Pollyanna had naturally cried, but her father told her that she could be 'glad' that she didn't 'need' them, and that's when the game of finding a silver lining in every cloud began.

The 'Glad Game' was soon known to everyone in the town, from the cross Mr. John Pendelton to the "trying-hard-ter-learn-ter-play-it" Nancy. Everyone that is, except for good Aunt Polly. For reasons unknown to Pollyanna, Aunt Polly had forbidden the mentioning of her late father and for this, Pollyanna cannot let her know of the game, since Pollyanna is known for taking everything literally.

However, very dark clouds surround the town of Bendinsville when little Pollyanna is hit by a speeding automobile and loses her ability to walk, so dark these clouds are, that not even Pollyanna knows how she'll be able to find a silver lining in them. I shall write no more, for the rest is for the reader to discover.

Pollyanna may at first be accused of having similarities to 'Anne of Green Gables' and maybe even 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,' but those will only last during the first few chapters, "Pollyanna" soon changes into a very original (And quite interesting) novel. This book is anything but dull, as a previous reader and reviewer had stated, and you simply cannot make such a remark after only having read "the first few chapters." Pollyanna will delight its readers, but its whole wonder cannot be lived until the wonderful sequel, "Pollyanna Grows Up" is read as well. It's true, when you meet Pollyanna, imagining her all grown up is hard, but although she grew older, she never did really change.

Although I appreciate those inspiring folks who believe that the glass is half full, choose to look on the bright side, and see a silver lining in every dark cloud, eleven-year-old Pollyanna takes the concept to an irritatingly higher level. Her businesslike forty-year-old half-namesake aunt Polly who resides in Beldingsville, Vermont, agrees to take on guardianship of the orphaned girl, not out of love but of duty, and relegates her to an uncomfortable, unadorned room. The girl welcomes flies, greets (and eventually befriends) standoffish townspersons, and can think of something good in even the worst situation as a direct result of her adherence to the rules of the "just being glad," game that she learned from her father (p 38) "the game was just to find something about everything to be glad about-no matter what `twas." Those she befriends quickly jump on the pro-Pollyanna bandwagon. She is slow, however, in transforming her aunt (who forbids her to talk of her father thus learns late of the game) from cool to convert. Pollyanna brightens the world of a bedridden woman, brings out the best in a penny-pinching bachelor, rescues the same man, and helps an orphan boy find a family. And when tragedy strikes, she faces the challenge cheerfully. The book ends as one might expect.

Although a positive attitude is admirable, Pollyanna's pleasantness was too much for me. This book might qualify as the book with one of the most distracting words of all time with its repeated use of a dual-meaninged (now rarely used in this context) synonym for "exclaim." Better: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren and Clarice Bean Don't Look Now by Lauren Child.

The book was great, was easy to understand and had great setup. I really enjoyed reading this book.

REALLY GOOD BOOK

Part one pollyanna grows up was basically an addition of pollyanna, how she goes and cures a lady who lives in Boston faraway from where pollyanna lives and she trials and adventure there .

Part two is about how she had aunt and uncle go traveling in Europe and unexpectedly her uncle dies leaving her aunt in a horrible state they return home in the first time in four years and her aunt tells no one about it because they are having financial trouble and doesn't want people in their business. Pollyanna meanwhile is still trying to be held,make some money , rancher talent in order to do so, and fix her romance problems with a three people. This was an exciting book I would recommend it to almost anyone.

This review of the book Pollyanna may be affected by the fact that it's being written by a boy, but let me say first that I enjoyed the Disney film version with Hayley Mills. I just didn't like the book as much. It's really nothing more than your average "irrepresible orphan turns everything upside-down" story, and like most of them, it's filled with cliches and is blatantly unrealistic, not to mention cloyingly cute. I could not stand the character of Pollyanna; she spent too much time chatting her mouth off and misinterpreting every cold act of her aunt's as an expression of love to really make an impression on me with her "glad game." While the characters are somewhat interesting, they're all stereotypes: the cold, unloving mother figure (in this case an aunt), the kind doctor who spends too much time with his patients to blot out an unhappy personal life, the embittered millionaire with a secret, the hypochondriac, grumpy invalid. It's so easy to notice these stereotypes that it makes everything so much less real than it already is. The movie was different in that it was completely believeable, thanks to the talented cast and the calm, subtle playing of Hayley Mills, who actually made a difference and had an obvious, BELIEVEABLE effect on the town without drowning us in cuteness. Get the movie; forget the book.

Awesome book perfectly fits the the first book funny and romantic in A way. Right from the beginning l kind of got that feeling that Jimmy was the lost Jamie . Almost wish the book could go on forever.

Even though I'm not that old I've read more books then most people twice my age, and l still find great beauty and character in old English and Greek, although I do admit it could have done with a few tweaks here and there and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make the love connections the basic fundamentals was still pretty good and if it was the sequel to anything but Pollyanna it probably wouldn't have cut it for me but it was Pollyanna and therefore I give it five stars.

I first read this book more than twenty years ago and recently found my thoughts returning to it as I pondered what's available today for my own daughter. Pollyanna is simple by today's standards, but contains the kind of genuine optimism and morality that our children sorely need. Author Eleanor Porter passed away in 1920 after writing a couple of sequels, but the remainder of the books in the series--there are eleven altogether, most out of print--are treasures. Your child will enjoy reading about the excitement of Pollyanna's adventures in such different times (in Pollyanna's Western Adventure, Pollyanna's is one of the first families with a "radio set") and you can enjoy the discussions that ensue as your child asks for explanations of life in the teens and twenties. If you enjoyed the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you will love these. Classic american childhood fare.

This book so effected me as a child, to this day, many many years later the phrase, "If you look for the good, you will find it" still serves as a valuable reminder for how we can effect our realitiy with our personal perspectives. This little girl, Pollyanna, teaches other children how to play the glad game in a wonderful and engaging story. Too few children today, know how to recognize or be happy. They haven't learned the "glass is half full" thinking. This book is a great spiritual guide, without trying to be one. Please read it and discuss it with your child. You'll both be happier. Thanks.

Pollyanna is a great book at any age. She always found something to be glad about. Pollyanna's father made up the glad game, and now Pollyanna plays it and teaches everyone else how to play. It made a lot of unhappy people a lot happier than they were before. After her father's death, Pollyanna goes to live with her Aunt Polly and she is an unhappy woman and Pollyanna and her game make her happy in the end. This is a story about appreciating all the good things in life. I think you should read this book because to me it was a great book!

I would give it zero stars if I could. The part that bothered me most was when Pollyanna's aunt, converted to Pollyanna's rather unbalanced way of thinking, finds stories of people who were "helped" by her philosophy. Two poor children have only a door to shelter them in a blizzard and wonder what children do who haven't even a door; an old woman has only two teeth but is so glad because they "hit." The book's social message is this: Everything could always be worse; this is a reason for foolish optimism. --The point of life is not to be able to twist all one's misfortunes (and other people's) so they seem like blessings; the author and Pollyanna appear to think otherwise, making for an infuriating story which also contains the stock "comic" character (a street boy with an unrealistic accent and boring) and unlikely romance (between Aunt Polly and the local doctor, who quarreled years ago over a small matter; it took the paralysis of Pollyanna's legs for thewm to make peace). This book deserves all the deprecation it has got.

I have always heard the name Pollyana and vaguely understood that she was somewhat of an optimist but this was my first opportunity to read the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I will have to learn to play the game myself. Bored with my summer vacation, I was looking for something light to read and stumbled across Heidi beloved book from my childhood. In the process of downloading I saw Pollyanna and decided to take that one as well. I chose to read Pollyana since I had never read it before and I am so glad I did. Finally I understand why Pollyanna is associated with optimism. The only sad part for me was that when I got to the last page, I was looking for more.

This was part of my cultural icons search. I wanted to know what people meant when they called someone a 'Pollyanna.' I loved this hopeful, Christian character. She changed so many people's lives, and turned so many hearts just by thinking about things for which to be grateful. The book is much better than the Disney movie. I also loved Pollyanna Grows Up (Puffin Classics)

These books definitely belong among my 10 favorite children's books of all time.

Have you ever been dropped into a house where you feel invisiable? Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter is a tender heartwarming story about a girl and her aunt's relationship. Eleanor H. Porter has touched many souls with this heartwarming and loving story.
This heartwarming story is about the relationship and concern of an aunt and her niece. They both try to accept that there's someone important and new in their lives.
Meet Pollyanna, and her aunt Polly, they both live in Vermont. Pollyanna and her aunt devolp trustcin each other after facing many obsticles.
Eleanor H. Porter brought in very discriptive detail. She changed font and size when she expressed what each of the character did, said,see and thought. Eleanor H.Porter is a very talented author. She convinces the reader with her expressive chapter endings.
You will find this story irrestible if you love stories that have characters who devolp many relationships. Adults and kids who have read this book will say its hard to put down. Don't miss this wonderful oppertuinty to see how this very good relationship begins, devolps and ends.

I enjoyed this book. Pollyanna's happiness WITH life as well as with LIVING life should be a lesson to us all. There isn't enough happiness in this world... therefore, we should not criticize those who lend their happiness to us. I think that we are too jaded with corruptness and evil that we find it hard to believe when others can turn rain clouds inside out and look for the silver lining. Pollyanna is a classic that should be read by all generations!

I indeed am glad I read this book. Pollyanna's Glad Game is truly a constructive exercise. She and her father invented the game -- which consists of always looking for something to be glad about -- after their missionary relief barrel contained not the doll that Pollyanna wanted, but a pair of crutches. They decided to be glad they didn't need those crutches.
I have a question, though. At the end, after Pollyanna is injured and can't walk, wouldn't she have been glad to have had those crutches back?

When I first heard of this book, I thought it sounded stupid. A girl who is always happy. What kind of a dumb book is that? I mean, come on! It just wasn't realistic! After reading it (I couldn't find any other book, that's the only reason I picked it up!) I changed my mind. It is a wonderful book, and its sequel is just as great! If you're debating to buy it or not, buy it! That's my advice!

I really like the book Pollyanna because it is very interesting, and the characters were very interesting too. The character that I liked the most is Pollyanna because she is very friendly and nice. I also liked Jimmy because he is also a good character. All the other characters were good too, but Pollyanna and Jimmy were the characters that I like the most. The book is very well-written, and the words used explain the story very well. Whenever you start reading it, you won’t want to put it down. I recommend reading this book and don’t forget to recommend it to others after you read it!!
Tziporah, 9

"Pollyanna Grows Up" was like meeting a long-lost friend again! I was really excited to discover this morning that a sequel to one of my favourite books as a child existed! I finished it a little earlier today. It kept me laughing and anticipating what I could see coming from miles off (most of the time). I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book right away reminded me of Anne from Anne of Green Gables. Pollyanna too is inventing new games and she loves to talk too. Pollyanna comes up with a wonderful game to find someting wonderful in everything. She's always cheerful and find life a big game. It's a great book and you just have to read it. This book captures you right away and sweeps you into the world of Pollyanna. You are left, too, with the feeling of wanting to find something good in everything in life...

I loved this book! So much better than the Disney movie. It was written in such a way it would have been a wonderful book to read out loud to children. I wished I would have had a little hirl to read it to.

The original book was a classic, an excellent story that just made you feel good to read it. It's one of my favorite books and always lifts my spirits to read it.

The first third of this book follows in that suit. It's not quite as good as the original, but it's still pretty good, and fun to read.

Then suddenly, inexplicably, the author jumps the story ahead by 6 or 7 years. The problems the characters have to deal with are EXTREMELY contrived and really don't make much sense, and the characters are written to be very stupid people who cannot solve simple problems. Their personalities even change, and it seems like this part was written by a completely different author who has no talent at all. It's some seriously bad writing and it's sad that it exists in a sequel to such a great original book.

The only redeeming thing about it, is that it satisfied my curiosity to see what Pollyanna would be like when she's a mature adult instead of a happy go lucky child who speaks first and thinks later. Unfortunately, it turns out she becomes a half-wit who can't help anyone. Too bad.

You might read this out of curiosity... but don't expect much compared to the original.

I grew up with Walt Disney's story of Pollyanna. I still have the LP record album of the movie soundtrack. But I was pleasantly surprised to read the original story and find such depth of character and meaning. I highly recommend this delightful book.

Written by Kurisa Suhr
If you think this book is just for girls - think again! A story that involves overcoming the biggest struggles that life has to throw at you is something that can help everyone. We all face difficult problems in our lives and Pollyanna is a story that will touch your heart. She is a ten year old girl who turns life into a "Glad Game" and finds a positive way of looking at very difficult challenges in her life. The characters are not just girls and women and the stories are about true problems that we all face. Pollyanna is a special book with a special message for everyone.

This book was very entertaining. I love Pollyanna's charecter. I think the book is even better than the movie! Pollyanna is about a girl and her adventures in a little town. She moved in with her aunt Polly. Read Pollyanna! It's a great book!

I read Pollyanna first probably when I was nine years old. I immediately got pulled in by her strength and, well, gladness. I just recently found this sequel and I could not put it down. Pollyanna, even when she grew up, wore the same joyful smile. The twists and turns in the plot kept me interested, and I didn't see most of it coming. It's a lovely story with a touching and happy ending. I would definitely recommend for anyone to read this book.

I started reading this book thinking it would be another boring classic but I was surprised, it turned out to be one of my favorite books. It's funny, exciting and has a good storyline. I would recomend this book to anyone!

Such a heartwarming story I loved it. It shows an exact example of thankfulness and graditude. The book also shows what growing up can be like. I have only read it once but I plan to read many more times!

This is a really excellent book, especially for those people who loved the first story about Pollyanna. The first half of the book is a wonderful reintroduction to the little girl Pollyanna and the second half is the story of Pollyanna-grown-up. Her manner of talking has matured with her, but she still plays the Glad Game in a way to win over even skeptical readers. Altogether, it is a most satisfying conclusion and a book I would recommend to anyone who loves the winsome character known as Pollyanna.

I loved this book and I recommend it to anyone between the ages of 8 and 12. You can really get stuck in this book and it was VERY hard for me to put it down. A regular tear-jerker near the end, but altogether one of the best books I have ever read.

Pollyanna is a "feel good book" it inspires an inner joy that lasts and lasts. Its like eating a delicious dessert and not feeling guilty over the calories. I beleive there are many people like that around in fact they; are everywhere and its a good feeling.

Pollyanna is a wholesome classic that should never go out of style. It's hard to find stories these days that aren't about drama or lust, and just provide a nice moral story that neither puts you to sleep nor makes you want to grind your teeth.

This book was the sweetest thing, all about a little orphan girl who spreads gladness and cheer to a unhappy town. I rate this 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys beautiful stories.
Enjoy, and keep playing the game!

This is a pretty good story. A little more romance than I expected, but well written. Although grown up, Pollyanna is still her normal optimistic self and her Aunt Polly is really exasperating sometimes. It's a book to read when you just want to relax.

This book really took me at heart. The thought of such a young firl who is positive through all the bad and the good. Nothing was unhappy or sorrowful. To have such an impact on a whole town is what caught my attention and made it one of my favorites.