Easy Confetti Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

By Sarah Walker Caron

Growing up, I devoured books. Titles like “Charlotte’s Web,” by E.B. White, “Ramona Quimby, Age 8,” by Beverly Cleary, The Baby-Sitter’s Club series by Ann M. Martin and The Sweet Valley Twins series by Francine Pascal sparked my imagination. Later, I spent hours reading thrillers from R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike.

But it was “Anne of Green Gables,” by L.M. Montgomery that entwined itself into my psyche.

There was something about that story — the orphan girl with fanciful ideas and a creative soul adopted by a brother and sister who had to learn to navigate family. In my minds eye, I could practically picture her schoolhouse, the lanes she walked down and the friends she made. It was literature written in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

Although I read all year, it was summertime when I got to dive into reading. I was always with a book — on the beach, in bed, on our porch. Trips to the library to discover new books were always exciting … and so was whenever we happened into a bookstore. Summertime, with its seemingly endless days, was when I stretched my literary wings and dived into books like “Anne.”

As we approach the end of the school year, I’ve seen things here and there about summer slide, a phrase that refers to the knowledge kids “lose” over the summer when they aren’t in school. The idea is that kids need to keep learning all year round. In theory, I agree. Learning is an always thing — something that happens throughout life, all year.

For me, that means lots of reading. There will be trips to the library this summer and untold amounts spent on books. Beyond my children’s literary endeavors, there will be hikes and jaunts to listen to live music and camps that encourage their interests.

Learning isn’t limited to the classroom. It happens everywhere, all around us. Heck, I learn new things all the time. In fact, the Netflix series “Anne with an E” taught me a very important lesson recently — while I always saw the fanciful imaginings of a creative redheaded girl in “Anne of Green Gables,” which it’s based on, there are other ways to see the story. Anne in “Anne with an E” struggles with the demons of her early life — and as I look back, I see that those parts were ones I glazed over in my readings of the book. They were there, though not as dark as the show portrays them, just nuanced. Click here to continue reading.