The Secret Garden
Common Sense Note
Beautifully written, the book shows two selfish, disagreeable children transformed by the magic of nature and their own imaginations as they work to bring a near-dead garden back to life. For the serious kid reader, this is a stay-up-all night, flashlight-under-the-covers story with fine watercolor illustrations. Hodgson combines realism, mystery, and moral sensibility to make a world children will love.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Katherine Kearns
If you think a book from 1911 might be too stodgy to interest children, think again. In a recent list of 100 favorite books as voted by children, THE SECRET GARDEN is one of only a handful of noncontemporary works to make the cut. The only reason it doesn't earn an A+ is the high-level of the writing, which makes it inaccessible to some.
Children like Burnett's ability to tell the truth about her characters without condemning them. Mistress Mary, quite contrary, "was a self-absorbed child," and Colin "thought the whole world belonged to him." But Burnett makes it clear that these children have been raised without their parents' love.
Children will first be caught by the mysterious world that unfolds, and then comforted to see Colin and Mary reclaim themselves, with a little help from Mother Nature and kind friends. One sixth-grader ended her book report with, "It is truly 'magical' how Colin believed in himself and overcame his illness. I guarantee that you will enjoy it!" Burnett sets a tone balanced between unflinching realism and high optimism--not too hard, not too soft.
Several video versions exist: One exceptional adaptation is Francis Ford Coppola's, with a lovely CD of the soundtrack. It was also made into a Broadway musical. Other classics by Burnett are A Little Princess and Little Lord Fauntleroy, each with several video adaptations as well.
Plot Summary:
Two cousins--one motherless, the other an orphan--are so monstrously spoiled that no one can stand them and they can hardly stand themselves. With the help of a boy of the moors and some natural magic, they discover an abandoned garden and return it to abundance. As the garden grows the children grow--into their own better selves.
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Social BehaviorIn a story written and taking place in imperial England, some class and race issues arise. Burnett shows the children's acquired prejudices to be part of their ignorance, but her attitude toward Colin's "Rajah"-like behavior is sometimes ambiguous. The sp |
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