May 02, 2024

L.M. Montgomery and the Magic of Spring

Baby blue eyes flower in spring

As winter gives way to spring, there is freshness in the air. Sprouts emerge from the cold soil, leaves take form on bare tree limbs, and animals return to activity.

L.M. Montgomery captured this sensation as she wrote in her journal on May 1, 1899 in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island:

"There is a magic about the spring—some power that revives half-dead hopes and faiths and thrills numbed souls with the elixir of new life. There is no age in spring—everybody seems young and joyful. Care is in abeyance for a little while and hearts throb with the instinct for immortality."

In spring, Montgomery feels that everyone is ageless. The return of warmth brings cheer; the sense of revival in nature brings hope.

When Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables, she again reflected on the magic of spring, writing:

"Marilla, walking home one late April evening from an Aid meeting, realized that the winter was over and gone with the thrill of delight that spring never fails to bring to the oldest and saddest as well as to the youngest and merriest."

Today, like L.M. Montgomery, I’m glad it’s spring—a season that warms spirits, revives half-dead hopes, and allows us to feel youthful and joyful.


Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery: The PEI Years, 1889-1900. ed. Mary Henley Rubio and Elizabeth Hillman Waterston. Oxford University Press. 2017.

Created May 2, 2024. Last updated August 21, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

May 01, 2024

Sweet as a May mist

A photo of clouds and a quote from The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery: On that road we heard the song of morning stars; we drank in fragrances
aerial and sweet as a May mist....

"On that road we heard the song of morning stars; we drank in fragrances aerial and sweet as a May mist..."
-L.M. Montgomery
The Golden Road

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Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created May 1, 2024.
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April 22, 2024

On a wild wet morning in late April...

A quote on April and receiving letters by L.M. Montgomery from her novel Jane of Lantern Hill.

"On a wild wet morning in late April the letter came."
-L.M. Montgomery
Jane of Lantern Hill


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Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created April 22, 2024.
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April 21, 2024

Review of the Oh My Anne Mobile Game

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game Trailer showing a Prince Edward Island landscape

Last month, I received a notification that the "Oh My Anne" mobile game was available to download for iOS, and I decided to check it out and review the game.

This new mobile app was announced back in December 2022. The game is based on L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. After the game's soft launch, it was released more widely this spring.

You can view the lovely "Oh My Anne" trailer here:

The game's trailer begins with Anne looking for her daughter Rilla Blythe. Rilla is holding a dandelion puffball. When Anne asks Rilla what she is doing, Rilla uses sign language to explain that she is making a wish to the "dandelion fairy" to be less of a burden to her mother. Anne is shocked at Rilla's fears and reassures Rilla that she is not a burden. Anne explains that when she was young, she was just like Rilla and that the unconditional love she received at Green Gables changed her life. Rilla asks to hear more about the story of Green Gables. Anne tells her to make a wish to the dandelion fairy to hear the story.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game Trailer showing Anne with her daughter Rilla Blythe who is making a wish to the dandelion fairy

Anne counts to three and Rilla makes her wish and blows. A dandelion seed flies through the air and across time to the door of Green Gables where a young Anne Shirley turns around.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game Trailer showing Anne Shirley at the door to Green Gables

The mobile game begins with this same sweet trailer. I found it touching and surprising that Rilla was deaf and had fears that she was a burden to Anne considering that Rilla was not deaf in L.M. Montgomery's stories.

After the trailer, you begin the gameplay. Each day when you log in to the game, you receive a reward for your attendance.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game showing an attendance reward

In episode 1, Anne encounters Green Gables with Matthew.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game showing the introduction to episode 1 called Anne encounters Green Gables

According to the game's storyline, Marilla was injured when she fell off her rocking chair, so Green Gables is quite dusty. Anne aims to help by cleaning and re-decorating Green Gables with new furniture. She's just entered the house and hasn't even met Marilla yet, so her behavior is quite forward and a bit odd.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game showing Anne redecorating Green Gables

You can play various matching games to earn coins and dandelion fairy points. These coins and points allow you to redecorate and move forward in the gameplay.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game showing a matching game

In this matching game, Anne Shirley is being chased by an angry bee.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game showing a matching game and scene where Anne Shirley is being chased by an enormous angry bee

The game is free-to-play, but there are additional locked features and rewards for players who purchase in-game virtual goods for microtransactions with real money. These features include special photos and dresses for Anne.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game showing the Camelia Tea Party royal ticket microtransactions and Anne Shirley's special dress

The dialogue for the game is a bit amusing. At times, Anne is even more dramatic in the game than in L.M. Montgomery's stories.

Screenshot from the Oh My Anne Mobile Game showing Anne Shirley getting upset and sobbing

Overall, the game is good for passing time if you enjoy matching puzzle games and decorating games. The animation scenes are playful, and Anne is very expressive. I'm not quite sure where the storyline is going as Anne discovers more about Green Gables and Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. I think younger players might find the game more enjoyable than older ones (like me).

I hope that the animators who created the trailer will make an animated Anne of Green Gables film in the future. I was intrigued at the relationship between Anne and Rilla, the fact that Rilla was deaf, and the use of sign language in the trailer. I'd love to see how they would continue Anne and Rilla's storyline in a novel way.

Have you played the "Oh My Anne" mobile game? What did you think of it?

Image credit:
Screencaptures from the "Oh My Anne" mobile game and trailer.

Created April 21, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

March 01, 2024

And then came March

A quote from Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery: And then came March, with its mad, galloping winds...

"And then came March, with its mad, galloping winds..."
-L.M. Montgomery
Pat of Silver Bush


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Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created March 1, 2024. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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February 09, 2024

The Golden Road Finds Me

The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery on a bookshelf with other old books

Sometimes our lives intersect with people, with places, and with stories in unexplainable ways. These moments can feel like manifestations of serendipity, unexpected occurrences in life that bring us untold joy.

Earlier this week, my husband and I went out to dinner, and I experienced one of these unusual moments. We were walking down a beautiful staircase lined with books. I was admiring the design of the room and the old book covers. As I walked along, there was an old copy of The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery directly in front of me. Although I was scanning the shelves, I wasn't looking to find any book or author in particular. But somehow this book found me.

I stopped and stared at the book's blue spine for a moment. As I pulled my phone out of my purse to snap a photo, I called my husband back and pointed to the book. He looked at the book in surprise and bewilderment, asking me, "How did you find it?" I didn't have an answer. I hadn't been looking. Montgomery just tends to find me at various moments, on sometimes significant days, and in improbable places around the world. I'm left in wonder at the reason.


Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Created February 9, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

February 01, 2024

a diamond winter day in February

A quote from The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery: It was a diamond winter day in February—clear, cold, hard, brilliant.

"It was a diamond winter day in February—clear, cold, hard, brilliant."
-L.M. Montgomery
The Golden Road


Read more quotes by L.M. Montgomery.

Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery


Created February 1, 2024. Last updated April 19, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

January 29, 2024

Anne of Green Tea Gables by NovelTeas

Metal tea tin labeled Anne of Green Tea Gables by NovelTeas

During a recent visit to a bookshop, a tin of specialty Anne of Green Gables tea caught my attention. It's called "Anne of Green Tea Gables" by NovelTeas. The company produces a delightful library of punny teas for book lovers that include "Pekoe Pan," "Pippi Oolongstocking," and "Oliver Lemon Twist." The Anne-inspired tea is a green tea flavored with raspberry pieces and orange peel. You can purchase it here.

Here's the charming description of the tea by NovelTeas:

"Guaranteed to be non-alcoholic, eternally optimistic and not get you into trouble. Our blend will romance you away to Avonlea and the world L. M. Montgomery brought to life through the eyes of Anne Shirley."

What a fun concept. Aren't books and tea a perfect match? Would you like to try Anne of Green Tea Gables? I think I'd like to try "Don QuixoTea - Man of La ManChai" myself.

Created January 29, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com