The Secret Garden
Ratings604
Average rating4
I read this book as a child and re-reading it sparked a lot of nostalgic joy.
It's a lovely little story with a profound sense of found family.
The book is very much a product of it's time and requires some critical reading but I still enjoyed it greatly.
Loved this one. Recommended to me and I was very delicate at first with it, it had a lot of colonialism and racism, if you can get through that it's a beautiful book, and spoke to my own struggles with giving in and feeling sad and all that. A classic.
How could I not have rated this before? A longtime favorite...good thing I had a hardcover or I would have read the cover clean off of it. Still have that copy, too! Tasha Tudor's illustrations are perfect.
Siendo la tercera vez que leo este libro, ahora en su idioma original, debo decir que lo sigo amando como la primera vez.
Es una historia entrañable, que te entretiene a la vez que te recuerda lo bonito de crecer, de los años de infancia y cómo todo parece mágico en esa época de nuestras vidas.
Mary, Dickon y Colin, los protagonistas de El Jardín Secreto, son un trío de niños, donde el mayor con 11 años, se aventuran a descubrir las maravillas que los rodean en el pequeño terreno que cubre un jardín secreto que no se ha abierto hace 10 años desde que una tragedia cayó sobre la mansión a la cual Mary llega luego de la muerte de sus padres en la India.
Tenemos como principal personaje a Mary, una pequeña que creció ignorada por sus padres, criada, si se le puede llamar de esa forma, por sus sirvientes, teniendo absolútamente todo lo que deseaba siempre, siendo caprichosa y creyendo que el mundo le pertenecía y debían obedecerla siempre, pero esto cambia cuando llega a Inglaterra, al pequeño pueblo de Yorkshire, donde se da cuenta que no todo el mundo está dispuesto a cumplir sus caprichos, y más aún, que debe aprender a valerse por sí misma. Con los días Mary va aprendiendo lo que es respetar, valorar y aprender de quienes la rodean, incluso de la misma madre naturaleza, y la magia, un personaje silencioso pero importante en este relato.
Por esto, cuando finalmente conoce a Colin, un niño de su misma edad, peor de malcriado y grosero que ella, pues cree que el mundo se recude a la habitación en la que vive y de la cual nunca sale pues todos, incluído él, creen que va a morir, es ahora Mary quien enseña a Colin que las cosas no son de ese modo, lo hace poniéndose a su altura, retándolo y diciéndole que afuera hay chicos mejor portados y más divertidos que él, en esto se refiere a Dickon, un joven de familia humilde que vive sus días en una campo rodeado de animales, aprendiendo a valorar y a convivir con cada detalle que lo rodea de la naturaleza.
Los niños siempre creen que es el jardín, que han descubierto a pesar de las prohibiciones de todos, el que ha obrado la magia en ellos todo ese tiempo, pero nosotros los lectores nos damos cuenta enseguida que es la simple inocencia y la imaginación tan peculiar que tenemos al ser niños la misma que los ha salvado y ayudado a crecer y les ha dado esperanza de encontrarse siempre con algo nuevo y maravilloso que los acompañe a ellos y a quienes los rodean, por la aventura que apenas estpan por comenzar, la vida.
Este es un libro que recomiendo mucho a todos, a grandes y a chicos, siento que es una gran lectura para los colegios, que sin duda los niños disfrutarán y podrán aprender de la misma en el proceso.
Me encanta y no me canso de decir que es de esas joyas entrañables que agradezco haber encontrado en mi vida como lectora.
This summer on a stroll through London, I passed by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s home which is marked with one of the fabulous blue plaques that mark English Heritage sites. I hadn’t thought of her work in quite some time. In fact, I hadn’t read The Secret Garden since I was a young boy. But I knew I loved it, and it piqued my interest again because I was contemplating starting a fantasy book club when I returned home, and I wondered if The Secret Garden might be a good pick for an early read. You see, in my memory, The Secret Garden was very much a fantasy story because the garden was magic. It changed people. It healed them.
So, now I have just re-read this novel for the first time in nearly 30 years. And I’m delighted to rediscover that — though the story is not fantasy, of course — it is, indeed, about magic of a very real and attainable sort. And the garden did change people. It did heal them. And I remember what I loved so much about it as a young boy.
An enjoyable book for every age. The Secret Garden is a story of how two neglected, feral, and spoiled children becoming healthy and happy by companionship, friendship, good food, and people just being nice to them (with a little from a secret garden).
Mary and Colin, two of the main characters, have had a rough start in life. Neither of the children were wanted by their families. So, in a way, they make their own family with the help of Dickon and a few adults who care for them.
A delightful story of how our outlook, human companionship, and our own surroundings affect us as people. A bad environment can have bad results on us. A good environment can have good results on us. 4.5 stars
I don't understand how this is a classic that people keep making adaptations of it's full of awful children, ableism, racism and a classiest depictions of Yorkshire
I love how anti-India this book is.
I... really liked this more the first time I read it. I can't place it - it's a great book. But it's not excellent like it once was.
The perfect Springtime book, with lovely prose that truly encapsulates the feeling of seeing a garden burst out of the seemingly dead earth.
This wonderfully lovely book falls alongside other children's classics like “Anne of Green Gables” and “Chronicles of Narnia”. The magic in it is on the “Anne” scale, not so much the “Narnia” scale, but all three give me a similar warm, nostalgic feeling.
Loved the progression of the characters and the way the author understood the mindset and perspective of children in such a situation. Truly worthy of being called a classic!
I've wanted to read this book for years and kept putting it off. I wish I hadn't waited so long because it's such a lovely story. Outdated in places, certainly, but it shares an overall message about the nurture of nature.
Mary Lennox is sent to live with a distant uncle after the death of her parents. Having grown up unloved and spoiled, Mary has a sour disposition and temperamental nature. Her uncle Archibald is a widower who spends most of his time away from his locked-up estate. Mary is more confused by the locked doors than the idea of being essentially left to herself.
Her contrary manner begins to mellow the longer she's in the house. She comes to know the help who show her for the first time what it feels like to be cared for by someone. Soon, she finds herself among friends who have also felt outcast and unwanted through their circumstances. They come together in the secret garden to bring life into the place that has been shut up for a decade.
I always assumed this story was akin to Anne of Green Gables. Though there are some similarities, the narration is far different. I was most impressed by Colin's storyline. I'm always fascinated by the psychology of characters, but to read such a complex example of mental health having the ability to deteriorate the body felt before its time was fascinating.
Listening to this book on audio while walking enhanced my reading experience. The imagery of nature felt even more vivid while out in it. I wish I hadn't waited so long to experience this story! I'm looking forward to watching the film now.
The Secret Garden is a book I read often as a little girl. It seemed to me that I was in this garden, together with the main character. Now as an adult, I see how perfect this book is. Just open it to disappear into the world of dreams
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would!
This story is magical and beautiful and funny and made me cry and I love it!
I shall re-read it every spring !
Creo que en teoria es un libro que no me hubiera gustado si alguien me lo hubiera contado.
Se habla del jardin demasiado, la trama es muy tipica, el tema obvio, etc.
Pero aun asi atrapa y aun siendo tan simple y directo como es, da una sensacion de volver a casa cuando lo lees. Quiza es el estilo antiguo que ya no existe en los libros para niños de ahora.
Really enjoyed reading this with my 5 year old, outside of learning after we finished that he thought there was a literal dead body in the secret garden.
Outside of that, this book promotes really good conversation about positivity, avoiding snap judgements, nature, kindness. We had some great chats about it and likely will continue to do so. Definitely was interesting having to...clear up a cholera corpse in the magical secret garden, but here we are.
This book was kind of cute. A feel-good children's book with some issues. It's very British and presents India as the cause of Mary's sickness, not even mentioning how they colonised India, the way they talk about the natives there as well.. It bothered me a lot. But the story overall was very magical and optimistic and the characters were very cute.
Can't believe I never read this before now! Absolutely loved it, something I would definitely re-read. It's a very cozy, lighthearted book.
A book about a girl from India who gets sent away to her uncle's mysterious, big house with many gardens.
Lovely language, descriptions bring out the warmth and lonely feelings. There's a lot of mystery and curiosity. All the kids in the book are lovely and good role models, their character development is good. It is easy to read and some characters speak with Yorkshire dialect in small parts, very cool to see.
There are some good points made, but they could have been made without a god or spirituality. The race of characters was mentioned at points and it wasn't handled well.
I read this aloud at the three-year-old Mermaid Warrior request, her Christmas present last year, and read with everyone listening. Afterward we had to start reading the real book and went in about four chapters. I can see where things were eliminated from the story but I think they did pretty well overall about making it appropriate for the preschool sector. I love this illustrator and will look for more Little Golden Books with her color added.
What a wonderful book of loving life! Of how having material things may not lead to your happiness. Learning to enjoy nature!
2020 Reread: oh so magical.. this was such an enlightening reread. I LOVED.. and I mean super loved this book as a little girl. Now, I can see how this overwhelmingly affected me and shaped me into the reader that I am. It is so full of magic and wonder, so atmospheric. Just takes you away. It's really not dark like my inner child remembered but does deal with some very real issues that have stood the test of time - children who are lonely, adults who have hidden themselves away, and self awakening. So so so good. Still the best book ever. Confirmed.
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I loved The Secret Garden when I was younger. In my child mind it seemed slightly scary though. In my mind I still hear all the squeaky floors and see all the cobwebs. I still feel her loneliness. I wonder if this is how it really is. I think it's time for a re-read to have a fresh view.