When L. M. Montgomery published Anne's House of Dreams in 1917, she was far from home. Like all her books, Anne's House of Dreams is infused with the author's love for a small island. A place of winding red roads and a wealth of lighthouses, Prince Edward Island is described so lyrically in Montgomery's writing that I feel her deep connection and love of place along with her. When she wrote this entry in her journal on June 1, 1909, she had no way of knowing she'd be leaving

My husband and I looked down at our sad miniature rose. "I don't think it's going to make it," Peter said. When Peter gave me the little rose bush, it boasted a wealth of tiny red blossoms. Now, we knew the rose was in trouble. The plant struggled to thrive on the shaded deck of our Berkeley apartment. In an attempt to find more sun, we moved the plant container several times, Nothing helped and it was discouraging to see the leaves dropping off every day. Just when the rose

Autumn on Prince Edward Island My husband and I started out married life in an apartment near the University of California, Berkeley. When I began working in the library there, I would just happen to walk along Telegraph Avenue on my way home. Lining that street is a bibliophile's dream: a different bookstore with practically every step. I wandered into one of the bookshops and discovered a volume called the The Anne of Green Gables Treasury of Days, edited by Carolyn Strom C

For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. (Song of Solomon 2:11-12 ESV) What makes light so powerful? The light streaming in through a window in late spring makes everything feel more hopeful and promising. At the Chicago World's Fair, a beautiful kind of light was remembered by many who attended the Exposition in 1893. On the Wooded Island, vi

A lone figure walked along the beach after a fierce storm. With her long skirt twisting in the steady wind, she put up a hand to keep her elegant hat in place. Her gaze turned downward as she searched the beach for treasure brought in by the "northwester." She bent to pick up an object, and it glistened in the sunshine. Hermenia held up a beautiful glass float to add to her collection. In the late 1800s, Hermenia Zauner often combed the beach on an isolated island off the Wa

Lucy Maud Montgomery felt a chill when she opened the door to the clothes room. It was an early spring day on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Although the frost had started to lift, the unfinished room in the attic made her shiver. She stepped inside, seeing the usual cast-offs her thrifty grandmother could not bring herself to discard. Her gaze fell on a hatbox among the jumbled items. She reached out, and then her hand paused. Raw discouragement filled her again as she reme

Dawn streaked the sky with gold and lavender as Assistant Lightkeeper Bel Sinclair opened the tower door. After finishing her watch at the lighthouse, Bel drew the folds of a cloak tighter around her shoulders. The first hint of autumn nipped along the edges of a new day. A little weary after the demands of the watch, she still felt too restless for sleep. She headed to the lighthouse quarters and went up the narrow stairs. A traveling lighthouse library waited for her on the

"...for Assateague belonged to the wild things, and the wild ponies whose ancestors had lived on it since the days of the Spanish galleon." Perhaps nowhere else in children's literature is the idea of freedom versus captivity for animals so movingly explored as it is in Misty of Chincoteague. Written by Marguerite Henry, the story begins with the strange cry of a stallion locked in the hold of a Spanish galleon. As the stallion tries to free himself and his mares from the con

Once upon a time, a shy little girl sat reading at her desk in a combined fifth and sixth grade classroom. Bright sunshine filtered through the windows, but she failed to notice it. During an hour given over to silent reading, she’d become lost in the story world of The Swiss Family Robinson. A voyage of discovery...an appeal for help...a thrilling rescue...everything else slipped away. “Linda…” A voice intruded into the wonder of printed words. “Linda!” The tropical island