Rainbow Valley

By: L.M. Montgomery

Narrated by: Barbara Caruso

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

L.M. Montgomery's Rainbow Valley is the continuation of the beloved classics Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea.

Anne and Gilbert Blythe are married and have six mischievous children. Always seeking out new adventures and trying to help others, they're a rambunctious lot.

With a charming narration from Barbara Caruso, Rainbow Valley is a playful and enjoyable listening experience.

©1985 L.M. Montgomery (P)1985 Recorded Books, LLC.

nice. sweet. engaging.

The "Manse Children" are some of my favorite kids in this whole series, after Anne herself in book one. It's true as some have grumbled that this book deals only peripherally with Anne or her family. But I love these spunky, quirky unsupervised Meredith children that LMM introduces in this book. I find their adventures more interesting even than those of the Blythe children in "...of Ingleside", and I believe I'll listen to this repeatedly in years to come. A real pleasure. And the performance worked well for me. Bravo! I'll be buying Rilla's story soon, to complete the series.

L.M. Montgomery is better aloud than in my head

Where does Rainbow Valley rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Rainbow Valley is a favorite. I used to get the audio book from the library all the time, so I decided to download it on audible so that I'd always have it. In my opinion, it's one of the most underrated books in the series.

What did you like best about this story?

L.M. Montgomery never fails to create lovable characters and paint vivid pictures in the mind of the reader. I love the dynamic of the Manse kids, the mischief of Mary Vance, and the romance at the end.

What does Barbara Caruso bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Being read to is highly underrated. Caruso's voice is the kind that can remind you of being read to as a child by a teacher, parent, grandparent, etc. Her voice is homey.
Although, if I were to give one criticism, it is odd to hear an older woman voice so many children.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Any moment between the Manse children and their father

Any additional comments?

If you're looking for a story all about Anne, Gilbert, and their children and will not be satisfied with anything else, this story will not appeal to you. The story centers primarily around the family of the preacher in Anne's town. Her family is in the story as well, especially her and her housekeeper Susan, but if I were to guess, I'd say that L.M. Montgomery wanted to create an all-new story and set of characters and place them in a familiar world. This is not really a continuation of Anne's story so much as a lot of fun stories about the hi-jinks of some rowdy, well-meaning children.

Too little of Anne

This is a lovely story but we hear so little of Anne and her family. If this is about Anne it should center around her and her family.
But still a wonderful book and very well read.

A delightful tale of the children

This is a truly delightful book full of whimsical surprises and childhood imaginings. My daughters (7&10) really enjoyed all the “scrapes” the brood get themselves into, and wish we had a Rainbow Valley of our own to escape into. Barbara Caruso does a fantastic job reading the story, and we can’t wait to start the final book with Barbara after this.

Well done !

The reader is my favorite of the series! Not overdone whether she is speaking as an adult or child. The narrative of the many growing children in all their scrapes and triumphs is at times tugging your heart and/ or bringing a chuckle!

Love each book until this one

The narrator is great. It’s the story that disappointed me. I missed the story being about Anne. It was just too much of the kids and not enough of her.

Love this book in the, Anne of Green Gables series!

With all of the problems going on in the country, I took a break from Drammatic authors to lighten my spirit. L. M. Montgomery, takes the reader away into a kinder, gentler time.

I loved this book so much!

The story reminded me so much of Anne of Green Gables (book 1). Also, Barbara Carusso (the narrator) is fantastic!

Missing Anne

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Young children who are not attached to the core "Anne" characters

What could L.M. Montgomery have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Made this story a cohesive part of the series

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Barbara Caruso?

Barbra Rosenblat

Well worth it!

Expressive narrator made for a great story. This story is less focussed on Anne's family and more about new characters introduced by Montgomery.