Page 6 - Cornice_Grade 5

Book

Review

Title: Pollyanna
Author: Eleanor H. Porter
Illustrator: Neil Reed
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 8-12
Setting: Harrington Mansion, Pendleton Area, and
Pollyanna’s Neighbourhood

Plot: Miss Polly Harington lived in the Har-
rington Mansion on the top of a hill. One day, Miss
Polly got a letter informing her that her sister's hus-
band had passed away, so if she could, she had to take
in her niece but if not, she would be sent elsewhere.
Her sister had passed away a long time ago. As much
as Miss Polly did not want to be associated with her
nieces or other family members, she had a reputa-
tion. So, she decided that she would be taking in her
niece. She had duties to do somewhere else, so she
had told Nancy, her maid, to pick up her niece from
the train station.

Nancy told the gardener, Old Tom, about Miss Polly’s niece Pollyanna. Nancy was worried about how
Pollyanna would be treated because Miss Polly was a miserable-looking woman. At the train station, when
she was being picked up, Pollyanna thought that Nancy was Miss Polly, her aunt. But later, she found out who
Nancy was, so she kept on chattering and asking questions throughout the ride. When they reached the man-
sion, Nancy was told to clean the attic room and get it tidied up for Pollyanna.

The windows were shut so no flies could come in but it was quite hot up there because of that. It
would be that way until the screens were installed in her rooms. Though Pollyanna seemed like a normal girl,
she had something that made everyone call her an ‘extraordinary child’. She played a game called the Glad
Game. She was taken care of by the Ladies’ Aiders before her father's death. Before her father's death, the
Ladies’ Aider sent them missionary boxes which came with a few things like worn dresses and all. Once she
wanted a doll, but instead she got crutches. So, her father told her to make the best out of it. That is how she
started playing the Glad Game. Throughout her stay at the mansion, she started getting used to doing many
things and going to many places became a part of her life. She had learned to sew, cook, play music and other
things as well. She had gotten new dresses and garments. She was also running errands. Since it was getting a
little too hot for Pollyanna in the attic, Aunt Polly decided to move Pollyanna to a proper room downstairs.

She went to a place where a person named Mrs Snow lived. Nancy told her that Mrs Snow was quite
a hard person to be around. She used to complain a lot about the things that she didn’t have or didn’t get.
But Pollyanna’s incredible charm and explanation of the Glad Game changed Mrs Snow’s attitude. She had
stopped complaining about things she didn’t have and started being glad about the things she had.