Anne Gets a Makeover

As I was walking past the "popular/recently returned children's books" shelf at my local library the other day, my eye was immediately grabbed by two new versions of the Anne of Green Gables books.  Take a look at the new one on the left versus the edition I owned as a child on the right.

In addition to the new cover illustrations (which I love, and for me are reminiscent of the Betsy-Tacy books, which are set slightly after these; it must be the pompadours!), these books are bigger - trade paperbacks, rather than mass market paperbacks.  The best thing about the bigger size for some of us is the bigger print!  As you can see from the link above, there have been many different covers over the years, but the one pictured above is the one I had as a child.  It is very "well-loved," isn't it?  I don't know what size the other versions are; do you?

I haven't had a chance to check, but hopefully these new editions also correct the typos present in the old versions, especially the appalling, and appallingly frequent, example which appears twice in the single page to the right.  Can you find it?

I do wish that the publisher had added interior illustrations and possibly introductions by contemporary writers who themselves read and love the books, as in the new editions of the Betsy-Tacy books.  Alas.  They are certainly still worth purchasing for those of us whose copies will likely not survive being passed on to the next generation (see photo above!).

These new editions are published by Sourcebooks, a publisher I've never heard of.  Have you?  It appears that Sourcebooks has republished only the first five books of the series; I hope the rest follow soon.

Interestingly, my daughter prefers the older books - whether purely on aesthetic grounds or because she had already developed a sentimental attachment to them I am not sure!

Picturing Pippi

I just finished reading Pippi Longstocking to my 7-year-old.  I had only vague recollections of the book but I do vividly recall making a book report cover using real yarn for Pippi's hair which I actually braided - a great accomplishment for this non-crafty girl and her equally non-crafty mother.


This time around, we just happened upon the edition illustrated by Lauren Child (at right).  While the book didn't thrill the adult me - its absurdist sense of humor and child's eye view of the world just aren't my style - my daughter was enthralled.  And I was captivated by the... well, the word "illustrations" doesn't do Child's work justice.  She doesn't just illustrate the book but, as in her Charlie and Lola books, plays with fonts and text placement.  This whimsical style works perfectly here, as when the sentence describing the ringmaster cracking his whip curves just like a whip and a birthday invitation is printed on what looks like a postcard:

Out of curiosity, I also checked out the edition illustrated by Louis S. Glanzman:  

My daughter pronounced both sets of illustrations (Child's in full color and Glanzman's in black-and-white) equally good, which surprised me, as I assumed that children would prefer the color illustrations.  I liked both, but I'd have to give Child the edge.  Of course, it's ultimately a matter of personal taste.  (The translations are different too, but I didn't have the time or patience to compare those!)

Finally, my younger daughter, who occasionally would listen to our reading, spied the illustrations and exclaimed, "This is the sister book to Charlie and Lola!"  What a lovely way to put it, don't you think?

Do you or your kids like Pippi?  Do you have a favorite edition?  And have you read the sequels, which I vaguely remember as disappointing?