Publishing: Signet, Rei Cen Edition. July 1st, 2003.
Synopsis: This story follows the life of nine year old Mary Lennox living in a British colony of India being raised by a slew of nannies. Her parents barely have the time to raise her so she is very self-centered and spoiled. In a tragic turn of events, her parents both die of cholera and Mary is left in the care of her uncle Archibald. He doesn't care much for her and basically moves her into his mansion in England and leaves her there. Her maid Martha does not put up with her temper tantrums. She also tells her about the secret garden that her Uncle Archibald had closed off after his wife's death and about her little brother who loves gardening and the outdoors. Mary discovers the garden and opens it up with a key that was discovered with the help of a robin. She also makes a discovery as to who the person is that she hears crying at night. She figures out that it is her Uncle Archibald's son who like her is very self absorbed. He believes himself to be ill even though he is not because he has been told so his entire life. His father does not like to be around him because it reminds him of his mother and he also fears that he will have the same physical difficulties that he does and therefore he is always in Europe away from his son. Mary, Dickon and Collin work on the garden together and Collin begins to think less and less of himself and more about the wonderful world around him. With this he gathers more and more strength and eventually begins to walk. When his father Archibald returns home, he is able to show him the garden while standing on his own to feet. This in turn creates a new and beautiful father son relationship that they have never had.
The story of this book is told in 3rd person by a narrator who has a completely objective perspective. The language written in this book is dark due to the heaviness of some of the concepts but is also very flowery and descriptive which makes this book stand out from others of the same genre.
I love this book and have loved it ever since my mom read it to me when I was little. Not only is this book beautiful written, but I have always loved the story of transformation when Mary and Collin both change from spoiled self centered children, to children who are kind and considerate and more aware of those around them. I feel that the message that everyone can change for the better is a powerful one and that this message is eloquently shown in this book.
While reading this book, I could think of many different fun activities to supplement with the reading. The first idea I thought of would be hard to do but so cool if it were to work out. I was thinking it would be amazing to create our own little secret garden in which we could plant flowers and tend to them and watch them grow. We could also add some science mini lessons into the mix by discussing the different parts of the plant and how it grows. Another idea I had was that after the book I could have my students watch the movie and take notes on the difference between the two stories. Once we are done watching, I would have my students pretend to be movie critics and rate the movie based on how closely it stuck to the original book. I would then have them present to the class their rating and why they gave it, which would be a great way to sum up the book in a fun way.
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