-The Bonnet Heads are in a War

I spent many years of my life reading The Little House on the Prairie series and the Anne of Green Gables series.  Both are responsible for many of my childhood memories (especially when I tried to get rid of my freckles like Anne) so when I saw this on Alison Arngrim's facebook page, I couldn't help but be intrigued.......

Bonnet Heads Fight Back: Anne vs. Laura Debate Heats Up the Prairie

"Obviously I am totally biased. I will always side with my Bonnet-Headed brethren on this one! (To be fair, I did do one performance (a buyers showcase evening) of a proposed musical of "Anne of Green Gables" - I played the "Mrs. Oleson" position on the Anne team: Busybody Rachel Lynde.)

It is true: Laura is a real person,... Anne is a figment of the imagination.

But, I am somewhat conflicted over this issue as I am an American, but my family is Canadian. "Little House" the ultimate American story by American author Laura Ingalls Wilder VS "Anne" of Prince Edward Island, written by a big old Canuck, Lucy Maud Montgomery.

I can see where divisive issues of the most base nationalism could arise! I have awful visions of braided girls massing along our border to fling little tin lunch pails and slates at one another! We must nip this bigotry and hatred in the bud!

The bonnet heads of both nations must unite!"

To make my decision, I am going to set the television adaptations aside - 
Honestly there is no adaptation of Anne that ever got it right (although I did enjoy the Road to Avenlea series that was on the Disney Channel when I was a kid, I always watched it when they had those free Disney Channel preview weekends back when Disney was a "pay-extra" channel and my parents were too cheap to pay--but this series doesn't count because it isn't based on the Anne Shirley story line, it is loosely taken from the story line of other L M Montgomery books that were also set in Avenlea) 

Little House on the Prairie was good, but by the later years they were so far away from the true story that there was no resemblance other than the character names (and some of those weren't even correct!) *Confession Alert---Little House does get some extra points for having Michael Landon playing Charles Ingalls, because from the first time that I saw him in Bonanza I was in love...and seeing him as Laura's dad didn't diminish those feelings at all!   

I read and reread both series over and over again.  They have such a different feel that it is hard to compare them.....but if I am being truly honest, I think I would have to pick Anne.  Maybe my Canadian half is just more into reading than my American half, but I don't think that is it! (hey, Alison and I have something in common)  From that first moment where Anne declared that she wanted to be "Anne spelled with an E" I knew that I had found my soul mate....even if she was fictional.  If I was to pull my old copies of the books out of storage, the Little House books would be well read, but the Anne books would be falling apart from so much reading.....I vote....Anne Shirley (because she had a full name folks, and she didn't always live at Green Gables, just check your book titles.  I always feel like the people who really love Anne call her by her real name and not just the title of her first book).....

Now all of us bonnet heads have to take Alison's advice and unite together to stop the war, but not until you tell me who you would pick and why......


........Laura or Anne?