Today I went to Littleton, New Hampshire, the closest place to go shopping, about 20 miles. I stopped at Porfido's and noticed the statue next door on the library lawn.
Here she is! Pollyanna.
Out of curiosity about the statue I did a little investigating inside the library. Eleanor Porter, born in Littleton (1868-1920), wrote "Pollyanna," the American childrens' classic.
In an interview Mrs. Porter said, "I have been made to suffer from the Pollyanna books, I have been placed often in a false light. People have thought that Pollyanna chirped that she was 'glad at everything.' I have never believed that we ought to deny discomfort and pain and evil. I have merely thought that it is far better to greet the unknown with a smile.
Pollyanna was adapted for Broadway in a production starring Helen Hayes in 1916 and then into a motion picture starring Mary Pickford (America's Sweetheart) in 1920. The 1960 Disney version made a star of Hayley Mills and is still popular today.
Pollyanna, the "sunniest and most delightful of optimists."
From 1913 to present over 1,000, 000 hardbound copies have been sold.
