The Secret Garden

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  I can't believe I haven't added this to my 'Already Read' collection before now. This was probably the most formative book of my pre-teen childhood. Every child should read this book, esp. girls of about 10. It is about a girl whose parents die in an epidemic in India, and who comes to live with her uncle, who, we learn, has a past tragedy he has never recovered from. The girl undergoes a transformation as she makes new friends and adjusts to living in the English countryside. During the... (show more)

  I can't believe I haven't added this to my 'Already Read' collection before now. This was probably the most formative book of my pre-teen childhood. Every child should read this book, esp. girls of about 10. It is about a girl whose parents die in an epidemic in India, and who comes to live with her uncle, who, we learn, has a past tragedy he has never recovered from. The girl undergoes a transformation as she makes new friends and adjusts to living in the English countryside. During the course of the book, the girl discovers a walled-in 'secret garden' that has been locked up for years (which is related to the mysterious tragedy in her uncle's past). The girl, with the help of her new friends, brings the garden back to life, and in the process, brings herself as well as others back to life as well. The book captures the magic of gardens and gardening. And, to this day, partly due to this book I read about 45 years ago, my favorite time of the year is still when the green shoots of bulbs appear poking through the soil. Part of the reason I related to this book is that my Grandmother's garden was walled on two sides, which made it very private. Another reason was that I think I was much like the main character, Mary Lennox, as a child (and perhaps still am.) :) (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook-användare on Sep 01, 2009 at 06:07AM

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  As a child this was one of my favourite books, read and re-read until my copy was beyond repair. The up-lifting story of a grumpy spoilt little girl sent from India to live at a big but lonely old manor in the English Countryside is a classic and deservedly so. Mary Lennox mellows as her friendships develop especially that with Dickon, a down-to-earth and good-hearted country boy, and Colin, Mary's indulged and sickly cousin hidden away in the depths of the old house, who also comes to find h... (show more)

  As a child this was one of my favourite books, read and re-read until my copy was beyond repair. The up-lifting story of a grumpy spoilt little girl sent from India to live at a big but lonely old manor in the English Countryside is a classic and deservedly so. Mary Lennox mellows as her friendships develop especially that with Dickon, a down-to-earth and good-hearted country boy, and Colin, Mary's indulged and sickly cousin hidden away in the depths of the old house, who also comes to find happiness.
  The story is intelligently written with three-dimensional characters, the speech of the servants is presented with their dialect/accents in tact, and the children behave as real children would. Written in the early twentieth century, there's much to provoke discussion with today's children about how children lived and were treated a hundred years ago, the different lives and expectations of the servants and their families to those to the manor born, as well as those in Colonial India. (show less)

   

  by Samantha 'Sam' Williams on Jun 26, 2009 at 02:14PM

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