FROM OUR EDITORS

Since 1911, the The Secret Garden has charmed readers of successive generations. Now in this wonderfully illustrated volume, another generation can delight in the story of Mary Lennox--an unattractive, unloved little girl, sent to live at Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors after her parents' death. There, along with her invalid cousin Colin, she is drawn into a magical world of the secret garden--where Mary and Colin are transformed by the beauty they find there. Ages 8-14.

ANNOTATION

Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved classic is adapted for beginning readers in this colorfully illustrated version. The spoiled orphan Mary Lennox leaves India to live with her cold uncle in his dreary mansion in England. When Mary hears of a secret garden kept locked for ten years, she is determined to find it and tend it back to life.

With the help of her uncle's sickly son and a boy who knows all about nature, Mary secretly transforms the garden - and all of their lives.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The All Aboard Reading series features stories that capture beginning readers' imagination while developing their vocabulary and reading comprehension. The Picture Readers, appropriate for preschoolers, combine a very simple text with rebuses. Flash cards bound in the book help make the transition from the rebus to the printed word. As the levels progress, the stories get longer, and the print size gets smaller, preparing readers for longer books with chapters. All the books are illustrated in full color, and engage a child's curiosity with a range of topics from science to sports, history, and fantasy. Grades 2 - Grade 4.

SYNOPSIS

In this beloved children's story, Mary Lennox, an ill-tempered orphan is sent to live in England with an uncle she has never met. While there, she discovers a spoiled cousin and a long-abandoned garden. Working to restore the garden, she finds she also cures her own ill temper and reforms her cousin as well

FROM THE CRITICS

Four to Fourteen

[Neglected Colin] lives the life of a spoilt and incurable invalid until the arrival of an orphaned cousin. The two children secretly combine to restore his mother's locked garden and Colin to health and his father's affection.

Publishers Weekly

A new series, "Storytime Classics," introduces four timeless stories retold by Janet Allison Brown to the picture-book crowd. Full-bleed and spot illustrations carry the stories, with text in large type In The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, both by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illus. by Graham Rust, the heroines' kind-heartedness and perserverence shines through. Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger embark on their adventures in The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illus. by Joanne Moss, and in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illus. by Dinah Dryhurst, readers meet the four March sisters. (June) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Soothing and mellifluous, native Briton Bailey's voice proves an excellent instrument for polishing up a new edition of Burnett's story. Bratty and spoiled Mary Lennox is orphaned when her parents fall victim to a cholera outbreak in India. As a result, Mary becomes the ward of an uncle in England she has never met. As she hesitantly tries to carve a new life for herself at imposing and secluded Misselthwaite Manor, Mary befriends a high-spirited boy named Dickon and investigates a secret garden on the Manor grounds. She also discovers a sickly young cousin, Colin, who has been shut away in a hidden Manor room. Together Mary and Dickon help Colin blossom, and in the process Mary finds her identity and melts the heart of her emotionally distant uncle. Bailey makes fluid transitions between the voices and accents of various characters, from terse Mrs. Medlock and surly groundskeeper Ben to chipper housemaid Martha. And most enjoyably, she gives Mary a believably childlike voice. A brief biography of the author is included in an introduction. Ages 6-12. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Janet Allison Brown retells the story of the secret garden in this simplified and abridged text of the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The integrity of the story line has been kept but the text has been shortened to keep the attention of younger children. Mary Lennox is a young girl who is sent to live with her uncle when her parents die. She discovers a mysterious hidden garden and uses that garden to teach her cousin to walk. Her uncle, who is out of town, returns to find happiness once again in his home. The lesson taught is that happiness can be found in one's own backyard. The illustrations in this picture book are lifelike and intriguing. This version will become a favorite of younger children, and a perfect way to introduce the classic story to younger readers. 2001, Penguin, $5.99. Ages 5 to 8. Reviewer:Nicole Peterson

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Ten year old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden. This story has never lost its charm; delicate color work and pencil drawings provide nostalgic representations of another time.1993 (orig.)Read all 9 "From The Critics" >