Goodnight, Anne. Kallie George. Illustrated by Genevieve Godbout. Toronto, ON: Tundra, Sept. 25, 2018. 40 pp., hardcover & EPUB, $21.99 (hc.). |ISBN 978-1-77049-926-3 (hc.), ISBN 978-1-77049-927-0 (EPUB). Preschool-grade 1/ Ages 4-6. Review by Nikita Griffioen. **** /4 Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy.

excerpt:

Goodnight, Bonny, growing on the sill.
Everything deserves its own name.
And Bonny is a much nicer name than just geranium, isn’t it?

Goodnight, Anne is a lovely work inspired by L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. George manages to capture perfectly Anne’s delightful and headstrong ways as she says goodnight to all those with whom she spends time. The reader is immediately aware of George’s accurate portrayal of young Anne as she says to Marilla on page 2 that she will not go to bed “before I say goodnight. I always say goodnight to everyone I love.” Thus begins Anne’s bedtime monologue. “Goodnight, Diana, my bosom friend,” Anne says. “We were kindred spirits the moment we met” (p. 6). The red-haired girl says goodnight to all those she loves, but she does not forget those with whom she has had quarrels, people such as Gilbert. “I will never forgive you for calling me Carrots!” she admonishes (p. 8). Anne’s lively spirit is evident throughout the book, and yet her goodnights are gentle enough to be enjoyed as a bedtime story.

      Genevieve Godbout’s illustrations contain lovely light-dark contrast, and capture the expressive nature of Anne and the activity of all that goes on around her. Godbout’s style is reminiscent of Brian Selznik; the illustrations are whimsical, sketched-out, and full of delightful details. Her drawings utilize light and dark in a way that highlight’s Anne’s spiritedness without taking away from the fact that dusk is falling and it is time for bed.

      Kallie George’s Goodnight, Anne is a book to be enjoyed by readers of all ages: young ones will be enthralled with Anne’s attitude and spirit as she says goodnight; older readers will find delight in remembering L.M. Montgomery’s works. Goodnight, Anne, a fine tribute to a classic work, holds an original charm all of its own.

Highly Recommended.

Nikita Griffioen is a high school teacher in Abbotsford, BC. When she is not too busy wrangling teenagers, she writes and illustrates her own stories that she hopes to have published one day.

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