A mesmerizing tale of a boy's journey across the boundaries of reality, this Carnegie Medal winner has the appeal of such works as Indian in the Cu...
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Dec 05, 2008
Sarah
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English manor homes seem to inspire a certain kind of time travel story. They are usually dream like and include a friendship across the ages. The only caveat, the protagonist from the present is usually unable to alter past events. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce fits perfectly in this category and it's one of my favorite examples.
Tom Long, the present day (that being probably the 1950s) protagonist is sent away to his aunt and uncle's flat while his brother recovers at ho More...
Tom Long, the present day (that being probably the 1950s) protagonist is sent away to his aunt and uncle's flat while his brother recovers at ho More...
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Dec 16, 2009
fin
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I read this book 10 years ago, and it still haunts me.
Tom is forced to stay with aunt and uncle for the holidays. He hates the "no-garden"-ness of their city flat, and a cranky old landlady who lives in the attic. One night, the old grandfather clock downstairs struck 13. Tom is led to open the back door, and he finds a blooming and live garden, which he learns later isn't there during the daytime.
In the garden world, time stood still for him. He befriends Hatti More...
Tom is forced to stay with aunt and uncle for the holidays. He hates the "no-garden"-ness of their city flat, and a cranky old landlady who lives in the attic. One night, the old grandfather clock downstairs struck 13. Tom is led to open the back door, and he finds a blooming and live garden, which he learns later isn't there during the daytime.
In the garden world, time stood still for him. He befriends Hatti More...
Nov 10, 2007
Janis
rated it: 
I read this as a kid but all I really remembered about it was that I liked it. It's not a flashy tale, and a bit old-fashioned. I think that's part of it's charm, but it may be a turn-off for some of today's kids. A bit like A Secret Garden with an E. Nesbit-lite twist.
Although the title character is a boy I think girls may appreciate this story more than boys. Tom's magical adventures are limited to the kinds of things kids do when they have a wonderful old-fashioned garden to p More...
Although the title character is a boy I think girls may appreciate this story more than boys. Tom's magical adventures are limited to the kinds of things kids do when they have a wonderful old-fashioned garden to p More...
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Jul 03, 2009
Amman
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Actually, I studied it for school; I guess it's pretty nice. Got a bit of magic in it, and is, all in all, a pretty decent book. I read it before school actually began; wanted to judge it myself, because once school starts they'll make it as boring as can be.
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Aug 02, 2010
Erin
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I found that I rather enjoyed this tale of a boy escaping from exile at an aunt's house into a garden 70 years in the past. It does shift back and forth a little unexpectedly in time, but not to such a degree that it is confusing. I suppose what I liked most was the subtle magic of the piece, not being high fantasy but rather realistic with just the time travel. The time travel elements appear to be well thought out, especially in regards to how the main character, Tom, interacts with the wor
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Nov 01, 2011
Big Book Little Book
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Stories that have a bit of intrigue and mystery always get my attention and the way this tale comes together at the end is brilliant. Lonely Tom has been sent to stay with his aunt and uncle and there are no other children there, and not even a garden to play in. But at night incredible things start happening when the clock strikes thirteen. Tom goes to investigate and discovers a garden that only appears at night. Better still, in the garden there is a girl that he befriends and plays with.
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Sep 12, 2011
Samuel
rated it:
First published in 1958 and made into a rather disappointing film adaptation, I loved this book as a youngster. I think my parents read it to me and, looking at it now, I can appreciate that the language and sentence structure does not have the finesse of later writers.
It is a story of Tom, who stays with his aunt and uncle in an old house converted into flats with no garden. However, when the grandfather clock in the hall strikes thirteen in the middle of the night, Tom is launched in More...
It is a story of Tom, who stays with his aunt and uncle in an old house converted into flats with no garden. However, when the grandfather clock in the hall strikes thirteen in the middle of the night, Tom is launched in More...
Aug 23, 2011
Helen
rated it:
Strangely, though it was published in 1958, I don't remember ever reading this as a child. I only read it now in preparation for the Open University's children's literature course, but I throughly enjoyed it. Though it's low key and not all that much happens -- Tom visits the beautiful garden that only appears after midnight and plays with the girl he meets there -- it had a strong narrative pull and I kept wanting to read on.
At the time the book was published, the present day story More...
At the time the book was published, the present day story More...
Sep 15, 2009
Kate
rated it:
I had to read this for my upcoming Open University course and I loved it. I am sure I read it as a child, although I hadn't really remembered much of it. It was magical, fun and I ate it up with delight! The story follows a boy called Tom whose brother gets the measles. To protect him, his parents ship him off to his aunt and uncle's flat where he has to stay in doors in quarantine.
His despair at staying away from his brother for the summer, with no garden to play in and no trees More...
His despair at staying away from his brother for the summer, with no garden to play in and no trees More...
Jun 02, 2009
Graham
rated it:
I remember avidly watching the Children's BBC adaptation of TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN when I was around Tom's age myself - this would have been in 1990 or so. I absolutely loved the series, but to my chagrin I never read the book on which it was based - until now.
I'd always assumed that this was a modern book but on checking the details I found it was written in 1958 - this explains how Pearce has a natural way with words and how she recaptures the same magic of childhood as Enid Blyton More...
I'd always assumed that this was a modern book but on checking the details I found it was written in 1958 - this explains how Pearce has a natural way with words and how she recaptures the same magic of childhood as Enid Blyton More...
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Aug 06, 2011
Nicholas
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http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1695975.ht...
I can't quite believe that I managed to reach the age of nearly 44 without having read this brilliant children's fantasy, though I had fond if vague memories of Dorothea Brooking's 1974 BBC adaptation. Tom, sent to stay with his aunt and uncle after his brother develops measles, discovers that when the clock in the hall strikes thirteen in the middle of the night he is able to visit the garden as it was in the past, and makes friends with Hatt More...
I can't quite believe that I managed to reach the age of nearly 44 without having read this brilliant children's fantasy, though I had fond if vague memories of Dorothea Brooking's 1974 BBC adaptation. Tom, sent to stay with his aunt and uncle after his brother develops measles, discovers that when the clock in the hall strikes thirteen in the middle of the night he is able to visit the garden as it was in the past, and makes friends with Hatt More...
Jul 30, 2011
Another well written childrens book! Though considering I'm reading them for kiddie lit, they better be good!
But seriously, I loved the story, especially that they weren't so 'childlike' but definitely an interesting read for adults as well. I loved Toms curiosity and the questions he raised... Some parts of the book got strangely philosophical, which I certainly was not expecting!
I also enjoyed how his character grew throughout the book, he started off as this sullen kid who was being ripped More...
But seriously, I loved the story, especially that they weren't so 'childlike' but definitely an interesting read for adults as well. I loved Toms curiosity and the questions he raised... Some parts of the book got strangely philosophical, which I certainly was not expecting!
I also enjoyed how his character grew throughout the book, he started off as this sullen kid who was being ripped More...
Aug 02, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
A magical story that plays on the nature of Time. When his brother comes down with measles, Tom is sent to his Aunt's poky flat. He is understandably annoyed - it's the start of the Summer Holidays and there is nothing to do, not even a garden. There is, however, an old Grandfather clock which never seems to strike the right hour. One night, it strikes thirteen times and when Tom goes downstairs he finds a magical midnight garden. He meets a girl called Hatty and spends many nights happily
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Jul 12, 2009
Terri
rated it:
Philippa Pearce brings the past alive by turning it into the present in this magical time-shift fantasy about a young boy named Tom Long.
Tom is placed in quarantine for measles and is sent to live with his childless aunt and uncle for a few weeks. They live in an apartment which is part of an old converted house. A grandfather clock stands in the communal hallway of the large house and old Mrs. Bartholomew, the landlady, comes down from her top floor apartment to wind the clock each More...
Tom is placed in quarantine for measles and is sent to live with his childless aunt and uncle for a few weeks. They live in an apartment which is part of an old converted house. A grandfather clock stands in the communal hallway of the large house and old Mrs. Bartholomew, the landlady, comes down from her top floor apartment to wind the clock each More...
Oct 12, 2011
Jane
rated it:
I was not, as a rule, a huge fan of sad book when I was a child, but I remember both loving Tom's Midnight Garden and finding it heartbreaking. Sometimes I'm reluctant to reread something that gave me so much pleasure as a child, because I want to hold on to that initial experience. But the rereading was well worth it. It is a story about the power of memory, the relentless passage of time, and the fleeting but intense beauty of the world and childhood. One might think that these are not the
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Feb 10, 2011
Nikki
rated it:
When I think about this book, I get the same sort of feeling as Tom at the beginning of the story -- a little stifled, restless, too full of food. It's quite odd! Anyway, that somewhat colours my memories of this book, making it a bit less wondrous than perhaps it should be. It's a sweet story, ultimately, about mutual loneliness and need of companionship reaching right across time and bringing too lonely children together. It never gets too saccharine, though -- perhaps just slightly, at the en
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Nov 04, 2010
Suna
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An enchanting story about a boy who travels back in time when he should be in bed.
That alone has all the right thrills of naughtiness to it, but his adventures with Hattie, the young girl who is one of only two people who can see him, are the beating heart of the tale.
Hattie presumes him to be a ghost and the country raised gardener thinks him a godless demon spirit, bent on doing Hattie harm.
As the nights wear on, Tom slowly discovers the truth about where he is going every night More...
That alone has all the right thrills of naughtiness to it, but his adventures with Hattie, the young girl who is one of only two people who can see him, are the beating heart of the tale.
Hattie presumes him to be a ghost and the country raised gardener thinks him a godless demon spirit, bent on doing Hattie harm.
As the nights wear on, Tom slowly discovers the truth about where he is going every night More...
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Sep 17, 2011
Jenn
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I first read this book when I was ten years old. On my primary school booklist, next to the title I wrote, "Unexciting. Most boring book I've ever read."
The prospect of rereading this book for my children's literature course was not thrilling.
However, this time (11 years later) I could not put it down. I've fallen head over heels in love with this book, and feel like I'm right there with Tom amongst the asparagus beds! This book contains beautiful and universal More...
The prospect of rereading this book for my children's literature course was not thrilling.
However, this time (11 years later) I could not put it down. I've fallen head over heels in love with this book, and feel like I'm right there with Tom amongst the asparagus beds! This book contains beautiful and universal More...
Sep 03, 2011
Laura
rated it:
When Tom Long's brother Peter gets measles, Tom is sent to stay with his Uncle Alan and Aunt Gwen in a flat with no garden and an elderly and reclusive landlady, Mrs Bartholomew, living upstairs. Because he may be infectious he is not allowed out to play, and feels lonely. Without exercise he is less sleepy at night and when he hears the communal grandfather clock strangely strike 13, he investigates and finds the small back yard is now a large sunlit garden. Here he meets another lonely child c
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Jun 21, 2010
David
rated it:
1958 Carnegie Medal winner features Tom Long who is is angry over being sent away for the Summer when his younger brother Peter catches the measles. Tom dislikes his aunt and uncle's flat, with no garden to explore and a cranky land-lady.
One night he comes to explore downstairs around midnight and opens the backdoor to discover a beautiful garden. He explores it each night and meets and becomes friends with Hatty, who seems old-fashioned. He suspects she is a ghost and tries during More...
One night he comes to explore downstairs around midnight and opens the backdoor to discover a beautiful garden. He explores it each night and meets and becomes friends with Hatty, who seems old-fashioned. He suspects she is a ghost and tries during More...
Feb 05, 2012
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
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Tom’s brother has come down with measles and Tom is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle for the duration of his brother’s sickness. Tom is not happy about having to stay cooped up in a small apartment. And then everything changes. A clock strikes thirteen and Tom makes his way out a door and into a magical garden where he makes a new friend and has a thousand exciting adventures.
I’m not a fan of ghost stories and I like my magical stories to include super powers, but despite the gho More...
I’m not a fan of ghost stories and I like my magical stories to include super powers, but despite the gho More...
Apr 22, 2010
Barbara
rated it:
I read this years and years ago, while living in England as a child. A copy was given to me as a prize for winning a summer reading competition at the Ely Library. I remembered the idea of the story: the clock striking thirteen each night, Tom sneaking out of bed to explore the garden that only appeared at night, and even the little girl from the past who climbed trees with him in the garden. But re-reading this book so many years later, I discovered there was a lot to the story that I'd forgo
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Nov 18, 2011
Suzie
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This story is magical and lovely and written in that style of English children's stories that I absolutely love (think The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and probably a few others I can't think of right now. It might come across as a slightly naive view of childhood, but I actually think it's pretty accurate. I kind of wish it was a little more fleshed out (a la Secret Garden, which is one of my favourite books ever and I haven't read it in far to long) but that's a minor quibble. Fantasti
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Jul 15, 2010
Jess
rated it:
I picked this one up after seeing it mentioned on Fuse #8's Top 100 Children's Novels Poll (although it didn't actually make the top 100). The plot sounded eerily familiar, and I thought there might be a chance that it would turn out to be the time travel book I read as a child and haven't been able to find since. Sadly, I don't think this was the book, but the similarities in plot meant that it was still satisfying in some of the same ways.
For starters, it feels old-fashioned ev More...
For starters, it feels old-fashioned ev More...
Dec 28, 2011
SarahC
rated it:
This 1950's classic for young readers is well-deserving of its reputation. Midnight Garden falls somewhere within the category shared by the Green Knowe books, which I have also been reading, so this mid-century writing surely influenced similar children's stories that were written later. Pearce captured elements important to us such as time, memory, dreams, loneliness, and change. Throughout the story, my mind moved from the thought of passing time to that of how experience and place can overco
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Oct 24, 2011
Greta
rated it:
I enjoyed how this book morphed while I was reading it. At first I thought it was going to be another "Secret Garden". Then I thought it was turning into a sort of ghost story. By the end it proved to be something totally different. There's a bit of mystery, a bit of fantasy, a lovely Victorian element and a unique relationship that unfolds in both worlds of fantasy and reality between the main characters Tom and Hattie. This book was delightful and charming and deserved to win th
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Feb 05, 2011
Carin
rated it:
How did I miss this book? I thought maybe it was a contemporary historic book, but nope, it was published in 1958. Young Tom is sent off to his childless aunt and uncle when his brother gets the measles. At first he's expecting the summer to really be boring and awful, but one night when the landlady's grandfather clock strikes 13, he sneaks downstairs from the apartment to the back door, and finds a magical garden. Every night after that, he sneaks out. At first he thinks no one can see or hear
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Aug 04, 2009
Paula
rated it: 
Okay, I quit reading at page 42. I wish I could write like Philippa Pearce, but this book is very old (copyright 1958) and very British. The latter is the harder nut to swallow. The book hangs (in significant measure, at least) on obedience (not a contemporary concept) and on a love of gardens (not a contemporary love). All this would not be enough for a sink were it not that the reader is taken in minute detail through every dust mote, every bright petal, every unexpired breath. I really c
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Aug 12, 2011
Ms. B
rated it:
Stick with this one; it picks up speed during the second half. This book explores the idea of time travel. Tom finds a doorway to a magic garden to the past where he meets Hatty, a young girl. Is she a ghost; is she real? Is he a ghost; is it possible to exchange time for eternity? Why is Hatty different ages each time Tom visits? If this book is starting to sound eerie, add a few verses from *Revelations near the end of this story. This book may make your head spin!
*Revelations 10:1-6, KJV
*Revelations 10:1-6, KJV
Dec 14, 2011
Sara
rated it:
My favourite book of all time. I'm actually reluctant to review it because I know I simply can't do it justice. I read the book when I was much, much younger - somewhere between the ages of 10 to 12; I can't remember the season, but the book was so evocative, I feel as though I experienced the moonlit summer nights and frosty winters on a frozen pond. I think I held my breath the entire time I was reading it, and the images that formed in my mind have stayed with me as clearly as any memory of a
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