The Secret Garden

Title: “The Secret Garden”

Author: Francis Hodgson Burnett                                             

Genre: Realistic Fiction                                                                  

Publisher: Dover Publications    

Copyright Date: 1994

Pages in Book: 96 pages

Reading Level: 3-6 grade

Summary: Mary Lenox is a young girl, living in India with her parents that really want nothing to do with her. Cholera hits her household, leaving her as the only one alive. She is found by soldiers and after a period of time, she is sent to Yorkshire to live with her uncle Archibald Craven. She arrives at Misselthwaite (her uncles home) and soon is informed of a secret garden that was locked up, as was much of the rest of the house, by her uncle who has been overcome with grief since the passing of his wife ten years ago. She befriends the gardener and a little robin redbreast, and a young boy named Dixon. Upon finding the key to the garden, Dixon and Mary begin working on bringing it back to life. One night she hears cries and curiousity overtakes her and she goes searching for the person crying. She finds her cousin, Collin in his hidden bedchamber. After a little argument with Mary and Collin, they realize that his “illness” is purely in his mind. Dixon and Mary begin bringing Collin to the garden, where they are found by the gardener (Ben Wheatherstaff) who was one of Collin’s mothers favorite workers. Collin learns to walk, and together all three children begin working on the garden together. Towards only what I could guess was the end of the summer, Dixon’s mother writes to Lord Craven, telling him that he needs to come home and see his son. He finds the children in the Garden. Collin and his father embrace, and it is soon known of Collin’s wonderful recovery.

Reaction: I thought this was an excellent book. It captured my attention throughout the entire story, and I felt that I was actually there while reading. The author did an amazing job describing the surroundings of Misselthwaite, the Secret Garden, and of the children that it made it so much easier to imagine it all.

Recommendation: I would definitely recommend this book to all children. Preferrably the older children, but this would also be a book that younger children could have read to them, and follow along.

Potential Problems/Conflicts: Probably the only thing that I found a little uncertain about the book was that the Head Servant, Mrs. Medlock, came off as very terrifying to me. She had about her some sort of air that just scared the children, as well as the readers.