Unloved, unwanted, bravely missing her father, worried about her freckles and unable to stop talking, Pollyanna Whittier climbs down from the train that has brought her so far from home.  there is no warm welcome for her. 
 
Indeed, her aunt thinks Pollyanna is a ridiculous name, gives her a dusty room  at the top of the house, and hopes there will be no disruption. 
 
But Pollyanna's irrepressible spirits can't help overflowing into a multitude of surprises.  Punishments are turned right around and mde to seem like treats; secrets, hidden for years, are revealed; rainbows appear in a bedroom. It all has to do with the Glad Game, the talisman Pollyanna's father had given her. 
 
Then something so terrible happens that even Pollyanna loses her courage. 
 
This is a book about loneliness and daring, about love of all kinds and about the difference a little girl can make to the world.