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2003
finalists.

2003 Hackmatack

Children's Choice Book Award/Prix littéraire - le choix de jeunes

"I cannot remember the time when I was not writing, or when I did not mean to be an author."

It all started with a lively redhead named Anne - Anne of Green Gables, that is! On a rainy night in 1905, Lucy Maud Montgomery began writing Anne's story. She based many of Anne's adventures on her own true-life experiences. When the book was published in 1908, it was an instant bestseller and Maud became one of the world's most recognized and beloved authors.

Did you know that writing Anne of Green Gables was only one of Lucy Maud Montgomery's many achievements?

• Maud became a published author at 15.
• In 1914, she made $12 000 in royalties - earning as much money as Canada's prime minister.
• Anne of Green Gables was one of the first English-language novels to be translated into Japanese.

Meet Lucy Maud Montgomery, the creator of Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon. Explore the struggles and triumphs of a writer's life.

Elizabeth MacLeod is a children's book editor and author whose books include The Phone Book and Alexander Graham Bell, both published by Kids Can Press. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Suggested Activities

• Write a diary entry for the day Maud found out that Anne of Green Gables was going to be published.
• Life was very different for people living 100 years ago. Find out what it would have been like for a child or a young, unmarried woman (such as Maud) back then.
• Create a time line for a famous person or for yourself (see pages 30-31).
• Take an event that happened to you and a friend and re-write it as if it happened to Anne and her "kindred spirit," Diana Barry.
• See page 31 for the list of books Maud wrote and read at least one new book from the list.