SuitabookWilla and Old Miss Annie
Berlie Doherty
- Reading
- Read the stories together or in short sections, pausing after frightening or painful animal moments. Invite the child to predict what responsible care might mean, then compare that with the story’s outcome.
- Themes
- Friendship across difference: After moving to a big town, Willa feels lonely and becomes friends with Old Miss Annie, despite initially being frightened and unable to understand her speech. The friendship is presented positively, as fear and unfamiliarity give way to companionship.
- Care, possession and animal welfare: The stories include finding a suitable home for a lonely goat, an abandoned pony that has nearly died, and the difficulties of keeping a wild pet. The stories explore animal care, possession and friendship.
- Appearance, fear and mistaken interpretation: Willa is frightened by Miss Annie’s bent hands and tiny voice, and interprets a white garden shape as a ghost before discovering it is a goat. The events invite reflection on how unfamiliar appearances and incomplete information can shape fear, but the broader evaluative treatment is unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The book includes loneliness, fear of a strange-looking older woman, a supposedly ghostly shape, and a heart-wrenching account of an abandoned pony that has nearly died.