Lil’ miss Sunshine

Almost 100 years back, Eleanor Porter wrote this classic story of an orphan,Pollyanna who made people around her feel glad about their circumstances in life .. and 100 years later,the book is just as popular.Miss Polly is a stern disciplinarian who takes in Pollyanna,the child of her late Sister, in her care only as a duty. Miss Polly frowns upon open windows and banging doors, seldom smiles and is a classic case of a touch-me-not.Pollyanna breezes into Miss Polly’s life and therein starts an adventure.Not just for Miss Polly,but also for the other folks in town.

Pollyanna’s “Glad game” (a game that her father taught her to look at brighter side of everything) spreads like wild fire and starts making a difference in people’s lives. Pollyanna’s unbridled enthusiasm for life coupled with her innocent demeanor makes her the darling of the town.Pollyanna endears herself to the people in the town by teaching her glad game to them.She helps Mrs Snow become less grouchy,makes a grouchy man,Mr Pendleton smile,rescues a stray cat,dog and a homeless boy,reunites a couple,makes her aunt “gladder” and causes several other minor miracles .However,a terrible accident threatens to ruin Pollyanna’s game forever,and everyone wonders how they can teach her to be glad.This forms the rest of the plot.

I loved reading this book and really want to see the movie adaptation as well.Several other sunny characters have preceeded Pollyanna like Anne from Anne of Green Gables or Heidi or Mary Lennox from Secret garden.However,the theme of all these books is the same. A bright,cheerful girl transforms cheerless adults through her own joie de vivre.. And everytime,the theme works. Pollyanna’s character has caught the fancy of people so much that the word Pollyanna can be found in any dictionary.It means “An excessively or a blindly optimistic person”.

Overall, an endearing read. 4/5 from me for this timeless classic.