The Secret Garden

by Margaret DeKeyser (Adapter), Frances Hodgson Burnett, Phil Devine (Illustrator)

Fully illustrated and adapted.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade

180 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[lulu wilford · Rating 4 out of 5]

this version is below my reading level but i still enjoyed it

[Sojourner McConnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has captivated me since I was a small child. In fact, this book so affected me, I used part of it in my own book about a reader that learned how to interact with other through the characters in books. This was one of the first characters that she pulled how not to act, until Mary Lennox, changed her little heart. When she changed her heart, she caused a domino effect that made this a go-to book for beautifully told stories.

The story builds and with the main characters all learning from each other, it is a growth in personalities that is tangible. It is a wonderful book and I can't recommend it highly enough. Everyone should read this at least once. Me, I read it yearly.

[sun ! · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute book. I enjoyed the descriptive details on not only the setting but characters. 3.5 stars.

[Lexi Loo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was filled with such charm and delight. I loved it, and I very much want to read the full version now.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars because I thought it was a satisfactory story. I liked how the author wrote in a very descriptive way because I could imagine the settings and situations very clearly. For example, he described the gardens beautifully and I could really see what they were like. I also liked how there was a lot of symbolism and the plot was unique. However, I felt like there were a lot of extra and unneeded details in the writing that weren’t necessary to the understanding of the events. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I think it is worth your time.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7

I really enjoyed this book. It really leaves you with a happy feeling in the end. You feel true sympathy for the characters when they're going through something, and what I pictured the garden looking like due to the way the garden is described, it just made me picture something like a fairy garden. I enjoyed this book so much that I read it literally in a day. I recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a "feel good" book.

[michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a marvelous children's version of the story. My 6 year old is on her 2nd or 3rd reading of it at this point and we have both enjoyed it. There are a few illustrations and other than some characters using "thy" and "thou" everything was easy for her to comprehend.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree with the other reviewer, it's a perfect way for kids nowadways to absorb this classic (that i never got to read myself as a child... just her other one, THE LITTLE PRINCESS. makes me want a whole series like this, for my library!

[Lekeshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally love this book every time I read it. My kids loved it too. They want their own secret garden and Dickon. They were glad that Mary and Colin changed their ways and became happy people.

[Quinlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wish i had the real version

[Lou Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was emotional, mysterious, and joyous.

Mary loses her parents and has to go live with her uncle. There, she meets Colin, her sick and isolated cousin. She teaches him that friendship and nature are the keys to a healthy and happy life.

I like this book because I enjoy the writing and can relate to Mary. I like the secrecy of having your own safe place, and I love the outdoors. I am also told that this is one of my grandmother's favorite movies, though I never met her.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but what about Mary towards the end of it? Like, Colin and Mr. Craven just walk back to the house without her? The entire story focuses on her until the end, it’s almost like she’s forgotten

[Jessica Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absolute classic.
Seen the movie thousands of times, never got to release the material it was based off of.
Definitely more suited for young readers, but a classic all the same.

[Sarah Holm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic story that I wanted to get a sense for, and found this Junior edition in a free library. Wish I would have read the regular version.

[Kiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5, why was I rooting for everyone??? Wow. Lowk Colin and Dickon were so cute, kinda shipped them….

[Layna Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how Mary doesn't become spoiled when she is at her uncle's place.I felt bad that Mary couldn't wander and could only stay in her ordered rooms.

[Kylee West]

Got this for my friends classroom for her students to read and thought I would give it a go while I still have it. Great story

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy tears todo el rato

[Bekah Boo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very mysterious book. In the book a girl named Mary Lennox goes to a special place because her parent's died. She meets a man named Ben Weatherstaff, he is the main gardener. Then she meets Dicken, a young boy who loves animals and can talk them, too. She discovers a secret garden that is walled off. She finds a key next to a door and goes inside the garden, it is brutal and old with dying trees and no flowers. Expect for a few sprouts springing out of the ground. She tells Dicken about it but tells him to keep it a secret. They decide to fix the garden together. One night she hears a crying sound in the middle of the night and finds Mr. Craven's son, Colin. He is lying in bed and says he is sick and has a lump on his back. Mary tells him there is no lump and he needs to go outside and play with them in the garden to get better. She finds the garden used to belong to Colin's mother who died. They all play and work in the garden. They found the tree his mother died on when she sat on a branch that broke. They distract Colin because they don't want him to know that his mother died there. Mr. Craven sees the garden at the end of the book. He is happy the kids fixed up the garden and he is very proud of his son.

I gave this book 3 stars because I thought it was boring but I would recommend it to other people to read. ,

[Priscilla King · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't usually like dumbed-down "abridged versions" of books. Although this one skips a few of the lamer passages in the classic Secret Garden, I don't care much for it either.

The illustrations seem especially weird. They're not the usual period fashion plates. Real Victorians might have worn old or unfitted clothes, especially if they were children working outdoors; and real Victorian children's clothes really weren't far from being sharia-compliant. Still, I get the feeling that the illustrator was nudging the pictures in this abridgment toward sharia-compliance, and I think that's inappropriate. I could be hypersensitive. The fiddly details of Victorian fashions are hard to draw, but when so many people enjoy the challenge of drawing them, why publish an edition of The Secret Garden illustrated by someone who doesn't?

I don't hate the abridgment too much to resell it, having acquired it in a bundle, but I'd urge readers to wait and read the real thing.

[Daisya Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis: A ten-year-old orphan comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

This is an adapted version of the story, I wanted to point out.
I thought this was an okay story. I liked how Mary developed as a character throughout the book from being a brat to kind of sweet. The Prince was kind of another story because he annoyed me all the way through.
All in all, I thought this was a nice story with a really nice ending. Nothing more nothing less.

[Diego Tovar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story I read a night after finding it between my childhood books. As a child (and also that English isn't my first language) I actually never read it when I was a child but now that i'm 17 (lmao) I read the entire book in 1 and a half hour and it was a pretty good experience. Also now I now it's a classic story maybe later I will plan to read the original story but for now I enjoy the book; and I personally recommend that small kids read it, inculcate the habit of reading on children.

[Jesylyn Batman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always liked the story of The Secret Garden since I was little, but I had never read the original until I found a copy in my mall's bookstore. This story did, at one time, make me cry. Now, realize that it takes a LOT to make me cry, and so I can tell you with a straight face that this book is very emotional.

[Abyssinia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very good book I really liked the ending and the characters and how the father reacted in the end towards his son was really nice but I don't like how he was just aloud to be a terrible father then get taken back in like he didn't do anything I would rate this a 5/5 and recommend to 4th grade+ and I want to someday read the original.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful. The jr version was perfect for reading aloud to my girls so we didn't have to push through the intense detail. The book still held true and my girls loved every second! A wonderful story for these kiddos.

[Amy Mikkelsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story as a child and was happy to read it again with my son. Every child dreams of a little secret hideout they can share with friends. I didn’t give it five star because the character of Collin annoys me.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was very well adapted to a language more simple for children to understand. My boys loved the story without getting hung up on grammer.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story. My girls and I enjoyed it. Looking forward to sharing the movie with them since I think this is one of those stories best enjoyed visually.

[Kjierstensb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very interesting. It definitely took me on an emotional rollercoaster. The book had me feeling happy, sad, excited, and mad at some points, but overall it was a very well=written book.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

First junior edition of a classic I read with my daughter before bed and she loved it.