The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Genre: Fiction/Novel
Age Range: 7 and up
Summary: Mary is a child who has been raised in India. She has had servants to attend to her every need, but her parents are busy with their own pursuits and pay no attention to her. Because the servants do not want to incur Mary’s mother’s anger, they give in to her every whim and she becomes spoiled and demanding. When her parents die of cholera and all the servants desert, she is forgotten and left alone. She is discovered by some of her father’s friends and sent to England to live with her uncle. Misselthwaite Manor at first is little better than England for Mary. No one pays much attention to her except for Martha, the servant. Martha is different than the Indian servants who give in to all her demands. Martha has an independent streak and several younger brothers and sisters. She treats Mary like the child she is. That first morning, she helps Mary to dress, but insists that in the future she must learn to dress herself. At first, Mary explores the house and the gardens. Her uncle wants nothing to do with her, and spends months away from home. While she is wandering outdoors, she meets Martha’s brother Dickon, who has a gift with plants and animals. Mary discovers the key to a walled garden which her uncle hates because it reminds him of his late wife. Dickon helps Mary to bring the garden back to life. As they coax the plants back to life, Mary and Dickon become friends, and along with the garden, she blooms in the light of their friendship. One night, Mary hears a strange moaning and discovers another child in Misselthwaite Manor. Colin is her cousin and has been sickly since he was born. His father will have little to do with him because his mother died when he was born. It is widely believed that Colin will die any day also. He and Mary become friends. They have much in common as Colin is as spoiled in his own way as Mary was, but like Martha, Mary treats him like the child he is and does not give in to his tantrums. As their friendship grows, Colin’s health begins to improve until finally, Mary and Dickon introduce Colin to the secret garden. The children play and grow in the garden like the flowers under their ministration, and ultimately, Mary’s uncle is so delighted in the change in his son that he also begins to come alive again.