Anne of Green Gables Gets a Makeover

As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever...but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected—a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special—a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.

Everyone loves Anne Shirley. She's fiesty, hard headed, and absolutely charming. Maybe it's her fiery red hair that lends to her attitude or the freckles that give her the spunk we've all come to expect from her. But wait... there's something wrong with the picture.

Thanks to BuzzFeed I found this little jewel of a cover remake. I mean, don't you all usually picture someone who's skinny, redhaired, and freckled as a blonde farm girl who wears plaid shirts? Who in the world decided to do this? I checked on Amazon and this particular edition of the story has gotten over 130 one-star reviews. Almost each and every one says they love the story but offer up their complete and total dismay over the new cover choice.

Wouldn't you?

For me, Megan Follows was, is, and will always be Anne Shirley. Can you imagine her a bleach blonde wearing a flannel shirt and jeans?

I can't.

When I was little, I wanted to BE Anne. I loved her. I loved the world she lived in. Sure she got herself in to a lot of trouble. But she had a huge heart and I would have given anything to be a "kindred spirit" of hers.

Yes, I understand that the content of the stories is the same, and I would love a boxed set. But not this one. Never this one. It's a perversion of the authors entire vision of Anne. It would be like someone creating a new cover for Harry Potter making him bald, taking away his scar, and eliminating his glasses.

The cover re-do makes me sad. Because I can still remember the way I felt when I was first introduced to Anne. To the skinny, carrot-haired, day dreamer who lived a life I could only dream of (after coming to stay with the Cuthberts of course).

What do you all think of this new.... look? Are you as sad as I am?