The Secret Garden

This is a story of redemption at its sweetest. Although written in 1911, it stands the test of time for today’s girls who think all is lost and find their happy place in the natural world.

I loved nine-year-old Mary Lennox’s exotic beginnings. Born in India to an absent mother and an often ill and busy English father, Mary’s frequent illnesses, lack of attention, and permissive nannies had turned her into an unlikable human. I had a hard time imagining this girl doing anything positive.

I thought for sure she was unretrievable. But when Mary, a seeming lost cause, is… show more.

She found the friendship that formed between the robin and the main character beautiful and heartwarming. She loved the way that the robin helped the girl learn and grow as a character, paralleling the growth of her garden. She also found the imagery of the secret walled garden magical and inspiring.

As someone who was told as a girl that she couldn’t play football or wear boys’ clothes, having this book on my bedside table reminded me that I could, actually. 

The heroine is a feisty, arrogant, lonely orphan transported to an unfamiliar place who comes to life as she connects with nature, rescues a sickly boy hidden along the dark corridors of a decaying stately mansion, and brings a neglected garden back to life. She doesn’t take no for an answer, has kindness hidden in her grief-stricken heart, is not afraid to befriend boys, and gains strength and comfort from… show more.

My love for this book started at age ten, when I read it for the first time and couldn’t put it down.

It introduced me to many of the tropes I would later come to love: the big house in the country, secrets from the past, the wise mother-figure. 

Most of all, though, this story about three children who resurrect a dormant walled garden taught me the power of hope. This novel shows us that although seeds and bulbs may look dead, there is a life inside that just needs care and space to flourish.

It’s a beautiful lesson for… show more.

Published over one hundred years ago and without illustrations (at least in the Kindle edition I read), this book still caught my son’s attention. The protagonist, Mary Lennox, is a challenging child, either because of her neglected upbringing or because of genetics (I suspect she would be diagnosed with ADHD these days). Again, it is realistic and there are not so many ‘badly behaved’ children at the centre of stories. It is an omniscient narrative (as were most books at the time) but Mary’s viewpoint is well captured.

A childhood favourite and one that bears re-reading as an adult to remind you not only of the dangers of being a self-absorbed, mean-spirited brat, but of the salvation that can be found in gardening and in simply noticing what is going on in the natural world around you. Again, the descriptions of the garden are transporting and when Dickon says, "it’s the best fun I ever had in my life – shut in here an’ wakenin’ up a garden," you can’t help but wish you were there with him. 

It’s unfortunate that this recommendation (and my favorite book of all time ever in the history of our infinite universe) starts with a disclaimer. This book is problematic. If you read it with a kid (and I suggest you do, because it makes the experience even more delightful if you have the heft of a lovely child in your lap), I suggest skipping some of the language. (Like the Supreme Court says about porn, you’ll know it when you see it.) Still, at a time when the world seems dark and hard, this book is magic for a raw… show more.

The Secret Garden is one of my favorite books. It's my favorite classic that explores the imagination and takes you on an adventure of self-discovery to a personal place where you can be free to be yourself. It connects to the reader because we all want a place in which we can be free. 

Fictional narratives have just as much power to connect kids with nature as nonfiction. This book was given to me by my grandmother when I was eleven and my dog-eared copy has travelled around the world with me. I credit my first crush on the character Dickon with my sense of wonder for natural systems. It prompted a lifelong love of nature. The Secret Garden may contain old-fashioned language and a story of British imperialism, but for me, this is an oldie, but a goodie. When they turn the last page, buy your kids a trowel and a packet of… show more.

Now over 100 years old, The Secret Garden may be one of the first true YA novels — and a model for those featuring secret and mysterious places. The book’s protagonist is 10-year-old Mary Lennox, a spoiled, neglected child whose parents died during a cholera epidemic in India. Sent to England to live with her cold and neglectful uncle, Mary is isolated in a vast manor house surrounded by sprawling gardens. Slowly, her demeanor softens, and she befriends a local boy named Dickon, who helps her discover and restore a mysterious garden walled up by her uncle years earlier. But… show more.