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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Such an adorable book! Another children’s book, I wish I would have read when I was a child. I’d compare this to ‘The Secret Garden’ and Julie Edwards novel, ‘Mandy’. I think I would have loved to discover a secret garden as a child. I can just imagine where it would take my imagination. I also loved the idea of the time travel, and figuring out the mystery of the clock and why Tom was able to go back in time to Hatty and the garden. The ending of the book was quite a satisfying one as well. Definitely think this could be a magical book for all ages.
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 forgotten, and I loved it all over again. I'd also forgotten that Ely and the Fens feature prominently toward the story's end... somehow quite fitting for me, re-reading a book I read and loved while living there.
Summer, time travel and magic infuse this classic children’s fantasy. I loved this book as a child, and the story stayed with me for decades. Even more delightful, this is one of the books where the magic translated to a new generation- my daughter loved it as much as I did. This is a bit haunting- not quite as light hearted as similar books due to a bit of melancholy to the mystery.
Tom is staying with his aunt and uncle while his brother is in bed with the measles. At first he dreads it because their apartment - one of several in an old house - has no garden to play in, but he discovers that the grandfather clock in the downstairs hall chimes to its own version of time and opens the back door onto a garden of the past. He wanders that magic garden every night and there meets and befriends Hatty. Time in the garden passes differently, and Tom discovers that the magic won't last forever.
Opening a door to another, magical land is right up there on my list of excellent plot devices, and I *loved* this book when I read it a few years ago, and wish that I'd discovered it as a kid. The twist at the end is very satisfying, too. Charlie wasn't quite as enchanted with it as I am, but he still enjoyed it (or at least he humored me by saying so).
Opening a door to another, magical land is right up there on my list of excellent plot devices, and I *loved* this book when I read it a few years ago, and wish that I'd discovered it as a kid. The twist at the end is very satisfying, too. Charlie wasn't quite as enchanted with it as I am, but he still enjoyed it (or at least he humored me by saying so).
With echoes of The Secret Garden, this is a mystical, lovely story about the passage of time, childhood energy and curiosity, and a yearning for connection. Interestingly, the last three books I’ve read refer to plagues or quarantine (as this did in respect to measles); who would have thought, until a few months ago, that these are not just things of the past and literature!
Evokes the past, and childhood, and the notion of generations in a thought provoking and sensitive way but what really remains for me are the feelings and the imagery of this magical yet quiet book that tells an age old story of boy meets girl and the old and the young.
The first time I read this book I was 11 and I re-read it over and over again until the cover was tattered and I lost that copy.
I managed to find it again and I sat down and finished it again and this book stands the test of time, mainly due to how the bond between Tom and Hatty works out. How they build a strong friendship in a long lost garden that is idyllic and wonderful.
Lovely book and I'm glad I found it again.
I managed to find it again and I sat down and finished it again and this book stands the test of time, mainly due to how the bond between Tom and Hatty works out. How they build a strong friendship in a long lost garden that is idyllic and wonderful.
Lovely book and I'm glad I found it again.
adventurous
mysterious
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No