Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her hunchback uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.
Reviews
Gr 1-4-- Although this abridged version of Burnett's classic novel retains the order of narrative events found in her work, the bare-bones style has little of the flavor of the original. The condensation all but eliminates descriptive passages and fails to develop characters such as Ben Weatherstaff, Susan Sowerby, and Archibald Craven. The time from Colin's entry into the garden through his recovery is severely compressed. Nor can the illustrations earn a purchase recommendation on their own merits. Figures are stiff and lifeless, and the colors are unappealing. In the final painting, for example, the complexions of all the characters are a sickly green. Adults who want to share their own remembered enjoyment of Burnett's work with their children would be well advised to read the original aloud to young listeners or wait until they are old enough to read the complete novel themselves. --Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Soothing and mellifluous, native Briton Bailey's voice proves an excellent instrument for polishing up a new edition of Burnett's story. Bratty and spoiled Mary Lennox is orphaned when her parents fall victim to a cholera outbreak in India. As a result, Mary becomes the ward of an uncle in England she has never met. As she hesitantly tries to carve a new life for herself at imposing and secluded Misselthwaite Manor, Mary befriends a high-spirited boy named Dickon and investigates a secret garden on the Manor grounds. She also discovers a sickly young cousin, Colin, who has been shut away in a hidden Manor room. Together Mary and Dickon help Colin blossom, and in the process Mary finds her identity and melts the heart of her emotionally distant uncle. Bailey makes fluid transitions between the voices and accents of various characters, from terse Mrs. Medlock and surly groundskeeper Ben to chipper housemaid Martha. And most enjoyably, she gives Mary a believably childlike voice. A brief biography of the author is included in an introduction. Ages 6-12. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
The Secret Garden is an amazing book. It is a model of construction and language, character (both of children and adults), behaviour, suspense and humour. Of course, it is about a time which, although just 100 years ago, is as far from us today as the Grecian Wars. But the author gives us a picture of a time without computers and mobile phones when a garden was a place to be simply enjoyed not forgotten in a rush for something ever more popular and a time when being active was a way of life. As you may gather I enjoy this book every time I read it and although it was meant for children of that time, it reverberates for modern day adults too.
Upon finding an old key, a little girl then finds the door that takes her into her secret garden. This is her private place which she reluctantly shares - and watches her garden bloom. During this time she finds out more about why the garden has been closed up for all this time - and also goes on a journey of discovery.
The Secret Garden is a gorgeous classic about an obnoxious spoilt but neglected little girl whose entire outlook on life and character begin to change after she discovers the enchanted Secret Garden of the title where everything seems just perfect and wonderful. It is a beautiful story that is still fresh.
Mary Lennox is so contrary that she could have inspired the children's ryme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" She is a spoilt English child, raised in India by her black slaves and never is never paid any attention by her parents. When they die of plague, Mary must move to England and stay with her uncle, a forbidding man who's wife dies many years ago. Mary discovers family secrets that no one wants revealed and her heaart is not the only one that opens during this novel. A classic that a I forced to read at school, I know find myself loving this beautiful story.
An enjoyable, though old fashioned, kids' story. Mary Lennox is, at the beginning of the book, an obnoxious child who it is very hard to like - though, having learned how she has been brought up, it is hardly surprising that she is like that! Gradually, though, as the book unfolds and Mary interacts with other children (especially down to earth country boy, Dickon), she becomes more likeable and even manages to help her cousin learn to walk again - a minor miracle, in the eyes of his servants.
The Secret Garden is a kids book that is probably going to appeal a lot more to young girls. Yet another story where a child is relocated from one country to another to be with an uncle type.
The girl's family has money, but she makes friends with an ordinary kid and go and hide in a garden. Adventurous they aren't.
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