Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden" is about a girl named Mary Lennox, a young 10 years old girl who dreams about being likeable by everyone. One day, Mary had received the news that she would stay with her uncle, Mr. Archibald Craven, a crabby man who often away from his own home. Mary herself found herself finding the secret garden which was belonged to Mrs. Craven, Mary's aunt before her death 10 years in this story. She also met Colin, Archibald's son, which makes Colin Mary's cousin who locked up for more than 10 years after his mother's death. This story is little bit sad but also very good. - Happy Reading!
The Secret Garden
By Frances Hodgson [illustrated by ruth sanderson] Burnett
Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 10 - 9 | U | 6.3 | 80398 |
When Mary Lennox's parents die from cholera in India, the spoiled orphan is transplanted to her uncle's 600-year-old gloomy and secretive estate in England. She is certain that she is destined for misery at Misselthwaite Manor. When Mary meets the old groundskeeper, he is the first to tell her what he thinks of her: "We was wove out of th' same cloth. We're neither of us good lookin' an' we're both of us as sour as we look. We've got the same nasty tempers, both of us, I'll warrant." However, Mary soon discovers an arched doorway into an overgrown garden that has been locked shut since the death of her aunt ten years earlier. Fate grants Mary access to the secret garden and she begins transforming it into a thing of beauty-unaware that she, too, is changing.
Book Reviews (91)
I love this book! There's a spoiled girl called Mary Lennox and her parents die from cholera. She was sent to her uncle's house soon after. There was a mystery inside the house and after asking, she found out that her aunt died, which made the uncle lock himself up or travel away to excape the depression. After that, she found a key to her aunt's garden. She kept it a secret and starts to replant the flowers. After a few weeks, Mary discovered her cousin, Colin, who is also spoiled and is very ill. They secretly become friends, and that helped Colin a lot. Mary learns how to take care of herself and the cousins soon noticed the maid's brother, Dickon. They all became friends. Colin couldn't stand and he was forbidden to go out, so he calls outf or Mary to come every single day. However, the cousins argued in the story about Mary taking too much time with Dickon. They quickly forgave each other and Colin even went to the secret garden to help replant the flowers. Mary became nicer and she looked prettier than before After some days, they all discovered Colin could stand on his OWN! They found out he was so sick because he never went out to play or rest. Mary's uncle started going in the garden and he was proud of his son. Recomended to 7 to 12 years old.
I liked this book!
The book The Secret Garden was written by Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1911. It is about a rude and spoiled little girl named Mary. She came from India but isn’t Indian. When she was born she wasn't wanted By her father or mother, so they gave her to a lady to watch over her. Mostly, servants took care of Mary and had to do whatever she asked of them or demanded because people didn't want her to throw a fit or cry. This made her grow up, having everything her way and done for her. One day, a great number of people in the household had died from sickness or had fled away in terror and most everyone had seen to disappear. People later found Mary in her nursery and came to take her to live with her Uncle, who is depressed and ends up having no time to pay attention to or love her. Over time she slowly learns to do things on her own and not to rely on everybody else to do things for her. She finds out that there is a secret garden that her uncle’s wife used to love, but she passed away, Which devastated him. So, he shut away the garden and never wanted to see it again. He buried the key to the garden, and no one has seen it for 10 years. Mary later learns to like people other than herself and to enjoy nature and what it has to offer. She meets a kind boy named Dickon, who teaches her a lot about gardens and helps her learn about them. She starts to enjoy plants and animals and has the desire to learn more about them. She starts to spend more time playing outside and sees the beauty of nature. I truly enjoyed this book and rate it a five out of five. I would recommend it to anyone passionate about gardens/plants and classics. Thanks!
Mary Lennox is an orphan. After her parents died, Mary moves from India to England. Her uncle doesn't care to see Mary, and she can only be in two rooms, her bedroom, and her nusery. Her maid, helps Mary, and gets her to go outside. Mary discoved a garden that was locked. she looked for the key and used it to unlock the door. A abandoned garden. With all her might, she decied to work on the garden and make it beautiful again. One night, Mary heres crying and folloews the sound to dicover her cousin collin. He's a sickly boy, and he thinks hes a cripple, but really, he just needs to go outside. Mary and Dickon help Collin be able to tend to the garden as well. When Collins father, Marys uncle, comes home to see collin walking, he is happy. The two childern were self centerd, but over time, both of the children helped eachother in ways that were unseen. A good classic book. Highly reccomended.
Mary Lennox was a spoiled, sickly little girl. She was hated by everyone she met, and she hated them likewise. But when her parents die unexpectedly, Mary is taken from her cushy life and is made to go to her uncle’s gloomy mansion. There she, unexpectedly, finds friendship and her spoiled attitude begins to fade away and is replaced with a kind and caring heart. Mary also discovers a mystery after discovering a buried key. She is able to unlock a mysterious garden and also open up her heart to new things and friendship. The book follows the life of Mary Lennox, a spoiled girl who learned to open her heart to love and friendship. I believe that everyone could benefit from reading this book. It proves the power of friendship and opening your heart to people. It teaches the importance of family and loved ones. At first, Mary was a spoiled little girl but by the end of the book, she was one of the most admirable characters in the story.
I've only read half of the book, I'm not even sure this is the book I'm thinking it is, mine has a different cover. These may not be the same but here is my description of the one I am thinking about (part of it) : Mary is a spoiled girl and when her parents are murdered their servants fleed and abandoned Mary. ( That's all I remember ) :D
“Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way - or always to have it.” As a child, I read this book at least four or five times, along with Frances Hodgson Burnett's other childhood stories about Sarah Crewe (Little Princess) and Cedric (Lord Fauntleroy). They represented a rite of passage for me as a person and as a reader. There is magic involved in coming-of-age stories where children strive to find the kind of life they are meant to live, against all odds, and I felt deeply satisfied each time I closed one of those books, knowing that the protagonists had (once again) made it through various challenges to live a better, more natural and fulfilled life. Some childhood classics are better left alone later, signifying a certain phase that can only be "demystified" by rereading, leading to bitter disappointment and loss of the initial enchantment. I hadn't touched The Secret Garden for a long while, as I feared the slightly exaggerated, dramatised plot might put me off, and destroy the magic of my memory. Many children and teenagers appear phlegmatic, angry, frustrated, lacking initiative to learn and develop, and they demand unreasonable attention without showing any willingness to commit to tasks themselves. We could not make sense of it, seeing that these students had "everything they needed, and more", and met with no restrictions or boundaries from their parents. Shouldn't they be happy? But they aren't That's when The Secret Garden came to my mind again, - an early case study of childhood neglect in wealthy environments, in which children's physical and material needs are met, but their psychological development is completely left untouched. In The Secret Garden, it is the poor, but well-raised and deeply loved local boy who shows the spoiled, unhappy upper class children how to take on a responsible role for their life, and how to make active and positive decisions rather than throwing fits to let others step in and take over. Just like a flower in a garden, a child needs both space, time and air, and a lot of nurturing, to blossom. I am grateful for the connection I found between my childhood reading pleasure and the everyday worries I face in my profession. A smile, a word of encouragement, a nudge in the right direction, all the small signs that show students that their teachers believe in their power to achieve great things - that's the magic of everyday life. And giving in to their tantrums is not helping those sensitive plants grow. It is stifling their development. When they claim they are too "tired" or "bored" to read The Secret Garden, and prefer to watch a movie version (if at all), they are in more dire need of overcoming the obstacle of long-term under-stimulation than the protagonists of the story itself. They need to be trained to love reading just like the two unhappy children in the mansion needed to be trained to show interest and care for the garden. Responsibility and care are acquired skills!
Great book! I first read this by myself in 2nd grade, and it took me over a month! It's about a 4th-5th grade level. It's a really good book, but parts of it would be offensive in today's society.
Mary Lennox's parents die and she goes to England then her friend a robin shows her a key to a secret garden she meets new friends and her looks and personality start changing.