''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author

Eleanor H. Porter Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist, most known for ''Pollyanna'' (1913) and ''Just David'' (1916). Biography Eleanor Emily Hodgman was born in Littleton, New Hampshire, on December 19, 1 ...

, considered a classic of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. The book's success led to Porter soon writing a sequel, '' Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, known as "Glad Books", were later published, most of them written by

Elizabeth Borton Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

or Harriet Lummis Smith. Further sequels followed, including ''Pollyanna Plays the Game'' by Colleen L. Reece, published in 1997. Due to the book's fame, "Pollyanna" has become a byword for someone who, like the title character, has an unfailingly

optimistic Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled wi ...

outlook; a subconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle. Despite the current common use of the term to mean "excessively cheerful", Pollyanna and her father played the glad game as a method of coping with the real difficulties and sorrows that, along with luck and joy, shape every life. ''Pollyanna'' has been adapted for film several times. Some of the best known are the 1920 version starring

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, and

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's 1960 version starring child actress

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising ...

, who won a special Oscar for the role.

Plot

The title character is Pollyanna Whittier, an eleven-year-old orphan who goes to live in the fictional town of Beldingsville,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, with her wealthy but stern and cold spinster Aunt Polly Harrington, who does not want to take in Pollyanna but feels it as her duty to her late sister Jennifer. Pollyanna's philosophy of life centers on what she calls "The Glad Game", an

and positive attitude she learned from her father. The game consists of finding something to be glad about in every situation, no matter how bleak it may be. It originated in an incident one

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

when Pollyanna, who was hoping for a doll in the missionary barrel, found only a pair of crutches inside. Making the game up on the spot, Pollyanna's father taught her to look at the good side of things—in this case, to be glad about the crutches because she did not need to use them. With this philosophy, and her own sunny personality and sincere, sympathetic soul, Pollyanna brings so much gladness to her aunt's dispirited

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

town that she transforms it into a pleasant place to live. The Glad Game shields her from her aunt's stern attitude: when Aunt Polly puts her in a stuffy attic room without carpets or pictures, she exults at the beautiful view from the high window; when she tries to "punish" her niece for being late to dinner by sentencing her to a meal of bread and milk in the kitchen with the servant Nancy, Pollyanna thanks her rapturously because she likes bread and milk, and she likes Nancy. Soon Pollyanna teaches some of Beldingsville's most troubled inhabitants to "play the game" as well, from Mrs. Snow, a querulous invalid, to Mr. Pendleton, a miserly bachelor who lives all alone in a cluttered mansion. Aunt Polly, too—finding herself helpless before Pollyanna's buoyant refusal to be downcast—gradually begins to thaw, although she resists the Glad Game longer than anyone else. Eventually, however, even Pollyanna's robust optimism is put to the test when she is struck by a car and loses the use of her legs. At first, she does not realize the seriousness of her situation, but her spirits plummet when she is told what happened to her. After that, she lies in bed, unable to find anything to be glad about. Then the townspeople begin calling at Aunt Polly's house, eager to let Pollyanna know how much her encouragement has improved their lives; and Pollyanna decides she can still be glad that she at least had her legs. The novel ends with Aunt Polly marrying her former lover Dr. Chilton and Pollyanna being sent to a hospital, where she learns to walk again and is able to appreciate the use of her legs far more as a result of being temporarily disabled and unable to walk well.

Influence

The quote "When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will" appears in the 1960 Disney version, where it is attributed to

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. However, the original quote ("When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it") is actually from the book, where it appears without attribution. As a result of the novel's success, the adjective "Pollyannaish" and the noun "Pollyannaism" became popular terms for a personality type characterised by irrepressible optimism evident in the face of even the most adverse or discouraging of circumstances. It is sometimes used

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

ly, referring to someone whose optimism is excessive to the point of naïveté or refusing to accept the facts of an unfortunate situation. This pejorative use can be heard in the introduction of the 1930

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

song " But Not For Me": "I never want to hear from any cheerful pollyannas/who tell me fate supplies a mate/that's all bananas" (performed by Judy Garland in the 1943 movie '' Girl Crazy''). The word "pollyanna" may also be used colloquially to denote a holiday gift exchange more typically known as

Secret Santa Secret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift giver is to remain a secret and should not be revealed. Deriving from the ...

, especially in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and the surrounding areas. ''Pollyanna'' is still available in reprint editions. At the height of her popularity, Pollyanna was known as "The Glad Girl", and

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

even created ''The Glad Game'', a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

. ''The Glad Game'', a type of

Parcheesi ''Parcheesi'' is a brand-name American adaptation of the Indian cross and circle board game Pachisi, published by Parker Brothers and Winning Moves Games USA. Equipment ''Parcheesi'' is typically played with two dice Dice (singular die or ...

, was made and sold from 1915 to 1967 in various versions, similar to the popular UK board game ''Ludo''. The board game was later licensed by

but has been discontinued for many years. A Broadway adaptation was mounted in 1916 titled ''Pollyanna Whittier, The Glad Girl''.

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

was the star. Author Jerome (Jerry) Griswold analysed Pollyanna together with juvenile 'heroes' in several well-known children's books, e.g., '' Little Lord Fauntleroy'', ''

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's joy ...

'' (both also portrayed by Pickford on film) and ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels and ...

'' from the era known as the Golden Age of Children's Books (approximately the American Civil War to World War I). With reference to the ''Theory of the Three Lives of the Child Hero'', he posits that, in ''Pollyanna'', clear oedipal tensions exist, albeit in disguised or projected forms, in the relationships between the child, her Aunt and the principal male adult characters, which are only resolved by the Aunt marrying Dr. Chilton at the end of the story. He calls ''Pollyanna'' 'a complex novel replete with disguises' and sees Pollyanna, not as a naïve child but, rather, as a gifted individual with the ability to direct her extreme optimism and good-naturedness (for the good) towards the manipulating of the negative, worldly, cynical or disillusioned emotions of the adults that inhabit her life. "Glad Clubs" appear to have been popular for a while; however, it is questionable if they were ever more than a publicity gimmick. Glad Clubs may have been simply a means to popularize ''The Glad Game'' as a method for

coping Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

with the vicissitudes of life such as loss, disappointment, and distress. Nevertheless, at least one "glad club" existed as recently as 2008, in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

In 2002 the citizens of

Littleton, New Hampshire Littleton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,005 at the 2020 census. Situated at the northern edge of the White Mountains, Littleton is bounded on the northwest by the Connecticut River. The main vill ...

unveiled a bronze

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

in honor of

, author of the Pollyanna books and one of the town's most famous residents. The statue depicts a smiling Pollyanna, arms flung wide in greeting. Littleton also hosts a festival known as "The Official Pollyanna Glad Day" every summer. The celebrated American science fiction writer

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

described himself as "

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

, the two-faced god who is half Pollyanna and half Cassandra, warning of the future and perhaps living too much in the past—a combination of both". In a 1973 State of the Union message to Congress Richard M. Nixon wrote, "I believe there is always a sensible middle ground between the Cassandras and the Pollyannas. We must take our stand upon that ground." The video game series ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

'' (marketed in the U.S. as ''EarthBound'') and '' Super Smash Bros. (video game), Super Smash Bros.'' series feature a song in every game (except '' Super Smash Bros. (video game), Super Smash Bros.'' for the Nintendo 64 and

3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

) entitled "Pollyanna (I Believe in You)". The song was also labelled "Mother 2" in '' Brawl'' and '' Melee'', before being altered to use the song's existing standard title. The song is a reference to the novel; a lyrical version produced and released on a soundtrack CD reinforces the reference in the lyrics.

List of Pollyanna books

Glad Books

Eleanor Porter Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist, most known for ''Pollyanna'' (1913) and '' Just David'' (1916). Biography Eleanor Emily Hodgman was born in Littleton, New Hampshire, on December 19, ...

**''Pollyanna: The First Glad Book'' **'' Pollyanna Grows Up: The Second Glad Book'' * Harriet Lummis Smith **''Pollyanna of the Orange Blossoms: The Third Glad Book'' **''Pollyanna's Jewels: The Fourth Glad Book'' **Pollyanna the game **''Pollyanna's Debt of Honor: The Fifth Glad Book'' **''Pollyanna's Western Adventure: The Sixth Glad Book'' *

**''Pollyanna in Hollywood: The Seventh Glad Book'' **''Pollyanna's Castle in Mexico: The Eighth Glad Book'' **''Pollyanna's Door to Happiness: The Ninth Glad Book'' **''Pollyanna's Golden Horseshoe: The Tenth Glad Book'' *

Margaret Piper Chalmers Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

**''Pollyanna's Protegee: The Eleventh Glad Book'' *

Virginia May Moffitt Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

**''Pollyanna at Six Star Ranch: The Twelfth Glad Book'' **''Pollyanna of Magic Valley: The Thirteenth Glad Book'' *Elizabeth Borton **''Pollyanna and the Secret Mission: The Fourteenth Glad Book''

Further sequels

*Reece, Colleen L. **''

Pollyanna Comes Home ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, '' Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...

'' **''

Pollyanna Plays the Game ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...

Adaptations

1915 play

In 1915, Catherine Chisholm Cushing published ''Pollyanna: The Glad Girl'', a four-act comedy which was produced with great success in Philadelphia starring

Patricia Collinge Eileen Cecilia "Patricia" Collinge (September 20, 1892 – April 10, 1974) was an Irish-American actress and writer. She was best known for her stage appearances, as well as her roles in the films ''The Little Foxes'' (1941) and ''Shadow of a Do ...

as Pollyanna. A critic at the time wrote that: "Mrs. Cushing has slashed and sliced and revised and twisted the story of Pollyanna and her infectious gladness until it has become swift-moving, intensely dramatic and very real." In 1918 and 1919 the play toured the U.S. and Canada with 19-year-old Viola Harper (nee Harpman) in the title role.

1920 film

The 1920 American silent melodrama/comedy film ''

Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...

'' starred

and was directed by Paul Powell. It was Pickford's first motion picture for

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. It became a major success and would be regarded as one of Pickford's most defining pictures. The film grossed $1.1 million (approximately $ today).

1960 film

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

film, ''

'', was released in 1960, starring English actress

in the title role (which made her a Hollywood star and led to a Disney contract). The 1960 film was shot at the

McDonald Mansion The McDonald Mansion, also known as Mableton, is an historic residence in Santa Rosa, California. It was built in 1876 in the Victorian Stick/Eastlake style as a summer home for the McDonald Family, McDonald family, whose primary residence was ...

(aka Mableton Mansion) on McDonald Avenue in what was then the small town of

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

. The Pendergast castle was filmed at

Stags’ Leap Winery Stags' Leap Winery is a winery located near Yountville, California, Yountville, California, United States, in the Stags Leap AVA, Stags Leap District of Napa Valley AVA, Napa Valley. The winery's estate vineyard was first planted in 1893. In 1 ...

. It was directed by David Swift. The film was a major hit for the Disney Studios. It also marked the last film appearance of Hollywood actor Adolphe Menjou, who played the hermit-like Mr. Pendergast, who is eventually brought out of his shell by Pollyanna and her friend Jimmy. The film was not very faithful to the novel. One marked difference from the book (and the 1920 silent version with Mary Pickford) was the treatment of Pollyanna's accident. Originally, she is paralyzed when she is hit by a car, while in the Disney film, the accident occurs because she is sneaking home from a local festival she has been forbidden to attend, and falls when she tries to re-enter her room by climbing the tree outside her bedroom window. The characters have been altered; in the book Aunt Polly does not run the town (named "Harrington" in the movie and "Beldingsville" in the book) and is hardly as ruthless or controlling. The idea of the orphanage and the bazaar with Dr. Chilton and the townsfolk opposing the charity of the rich are not found in the novel. The movie gives Jimmy Bean a far bigger role than the book does. Mr. Pendergast (Mr. Pendleton in the book) also has a more prominent role. The ending has been altered slightly: it is never made clear whether or not she is able to walk again (unlike the original book, the film never had a sequel).

1971 film

The Turkish musical drama comedy film ''Hayat Sevince Güzel'' (literally: "Loving makes life beautiful"), is loosely based on ''Pollyanna''. The film stars Turkish actress Zeynep Degirmencioglu. The name of Pollyanna was changed to "Ayşecik" to cash in on Değirmencioğlu's status in Turkish pop culture with her signature and title role of Ayşecik in the Ayşecik film franchise. This was a common practice in her career as she frequently played the character Ayşecik in other Turkish adaptations of existing films, such as ''The Wizard of Oz''. The plot of the film is consistent with the Disney adaptation, but certain key features are different, such as the addition of musical numbers and the absence of the prisms. This adaptation does, however, follow the Disney version by having Ayşecik fall from a tree (instead of being hit by a motorcar). Also, Ayse'nin Teyzesi (based on Aunt Polly) is considerably younger in this adaptation, and Ayşecik is about 16, whereas Pollyanna is 11 in the original novel.

1973 serial

The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

produced a six-part TV serial in 1973 starring

Colyton Grammar School Colyton Grammar School (commonly abbreviated to 'CGS') is a co-educational grammar school (and Academy) located in the village of Colyford in East Devon, England that caters for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school has been classified by Ofsted as ...

pupil Elizabeth Archard as Pollyanna and Elaine Stritch as Aunt Polly. This ran in the Sunday tea-time slot, which often featured reasonably faithful adaptations of classic novels aimed at a family audience, although in this instance it followed the Disney film (and not the original novel) by having Pollyanna injured in a fall from a tree.

1986 TV series

Nippon Animation of Japan released ''

Ai Shoujo Pollyanna Monogatari is a Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation, and part of the World Masterpiece Theater series. It consists of 51 episodes. Premiering across Fuji TV from 12 January to 28 December 1986, it has rerun across Japan on Animax from February 2007 ...

'' (''The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love''), a fifty-one episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series that made up the 1986 installment of the studio's ''World Masterpiece Theater'', and had famous singer Mitsuko Horie playing the role of Pollyanna.

1989 film

There was also a modernized made-for-TV musical version made by Disney (originally airing on NBC) in mid-November 1989 with an African-American cast entitled '' Polly'', which later had a sequel (''Polly: Coming Home'').

2003 film

A 2003

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Televi ...

TV film version of ''Pollyanna'' starring Amanda Burton as Aunt Polly and

Georgina Terry Georgina Terry (born 11 September 1990) is a British actress and psychotherapist. She is best known for her role as the title role in the 2003 ITV production of ''Pollyanna'', which is based upon the novel by Eleanor H. Porter Eleanor Emily ...

as Pollyanna is very faithful to the book, with one or two minor differences that do not affect the accuracy of the plot. It uses the original characterizations and storylines, but takes place in an English village rather than Vermont (only the scenery and accents show this—the town is still called Beldingsville). Like the book, it ends with Aunt Polly and Dr. Chilton married and Pollyanna walking, but the scene is the actual wedding with Pollyanna back for a visit rather than a letter as in the book.

2018 telenovela

A 2018 Brazilian

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

version of "Pollyanna" called ''As Aventuras de Poliana'' (''The Adventures of Poliana'') premiered on

SBT sbt is an open-source build tool for Scala and Java projects, similar to Apache's Maven and Gradle. Its main features are: *Native support for compiling Scala code and integrating with many Scala test frameworks *Continuous compilation, t ...

on May 16. The telenovela stars Sophia Valverde as Poliana. It is directed by Reynaldo Boury.

References

External links

* ** * *
Publication history, a brief plot summary, and biographical information about the author
compiled by the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

School of Library and Information Science. * * {{Authority control 1913 American novels 1913 children's books American children's novels American novels adapted into films American novels adapted into plays New Hampshire culture Novels about orphans American novels adapted into television shows Novels set in Vermont Series of children's books