The book starts by revealing that Anne is to be the teacher of the Avonlea School, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book soon introduces Anne's new and problematic neighbor, Mr. Harrison and his foul-mouthed parrot, as well as the twins, Davy and Dora. They are the children of Marilla's third cousin and she adopts them when their mother dies. Dora is a nice, well-behaved girl, while Davy is much more of a handful and gets into many scrapes. Other characters introduced are some of Anne's new pupils, such as Paul Irving, an American boy living with his grandma in Avonlea. He delights Anne because of his imagination and childish ways, which are a lot like Anne's in her childhood. Later in the book, Anne and her friends meet Miss Lavender, a nice but lonely lady who had been engaged to Paul's father 25 years before.
