These novels are established children's literature classics, with an uplifting and ever-relevant message of the importance of looking for the positive when life brings trials and challenges.

Pollyanna (1913) by Eleanor H. Porter is now mainly read as a children's book, but is wasn't written or intended as such. It was an immediate bestseller and influenced many people and popular culture during the first quarter of the twentieth century.

The story is about a young girl, who, as an orphan, is sent to live with her aunt, the stern Miss Polly. Pollyanna's father has taught her a game, which consists of always seeing things and situations in a positive light, and always being delighted with anything, in short, always be glad. The young, bright, innocent Polyanna spreads this belief, and starts influencing the people around her.

Within a few months she has made friends with most people in the community, even people, such as Mr Pendleton, who was considered to be unapproachable. Her unlimited optimism cheers up all the people around her, and brings people together, who were separated through years of miserly sorrow and anguish.

Underlying Polyanna's "glad game" lies the idea that everyone should be happy with small things. There are subtle suggestions that money is not the most important thing in life, and that apart from money there are many other things that may make people happy. The novel also suggests that Americans should care for each other before caring for others, far away, as there were still many poor and needy people within the US, at that time.

To the modern reader the book may appear repetitive and very simple, probably why it is now seen as a children's book. Because of its young protagonist, and its message, the novel also seems aimed at children. However, it is likely that children will merely focus on the superficial and rather simplistic message about being happy with anything, while missing the more subtle criticism on a society which is increasingly ruled by money, turning people in miserly Scrooges, having a lot of money, but unable to find happiness in life.

In 1915, Eleanor Porter published a sequel to her bestseller Pollyanna. It seems that in Pollyanna grows up she wanted to retain the elements that made the original book so successful, while overhauling the story with many new elements and characters.

Overall, the plot of Pollyanna grows up seems very contrived. Towards the end of the original Pollyanna, the little girl had managed, single-handed, to turn a whole, gloomy community to happiness. Therefore, in Pollyanna grows up, the tonic of Pollyanna's infectuous optimism, must be sprinkled over a new set of gloomy characters, which she encounters on a visit, replacement of characters who die off and boarders moving into her home. Many plot situations are the inverse of elements from the original story. The story feels contrived and lacking the spontaneity of the first volume.

Although supposedly Pollyanna grows up to about the age of 20 by the end of the story, her behaviour and mindset remain largely characterised by the naivete and childishness of the original novel. The suggestion that old Mr Pendleton, aged 70 or thereabouts, might marry her, seems very peculiar.

Both volume one, Pollyanna, and volume two, Pollyanna grows up, end in a low key. Towards the end of Pollyanna, the main character is hit by a car (probably still a novelty in 1913), and by the end of Pollyanna grows up, the character Jimmy Bean is troubled by his lowly class background.

As in the original novel, Eleanor Porter, makes the oblique suggestion that people should not think too much about money, and that losing all one's money, can never be the worst thing to happen in one's life (p. 376).

While the original Pollyanna was a bestseller and inspired many people, the word Pollyanna has slipped into the language with a negative connotation as an excessively or blindly optimistic person while pol•ly•an•na•ish has come to mean unreasonably or illogically optimistic.

These negative connotations may suggest that there is a limit to how much optimism the reader can stomach.

The original two novels Pollyanna and Pollyanna grows up were published in an omnibus edition by Shanghai: World Publishing in 2011 (上海: 世界图书出版公司). ( )