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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a time traveling book set around the idea of a clock adding an extra hour and sending a little boy to a garden from a different era. The initial parts of the book were quite interesting because it was unclear what was happening and how things would proceed, but the later parts became a bit boring because Tom had no character development and was unable to grasp what was happening.
Lovely book from my childhood, always lovely to revisit characters and places of time gone past.
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 ghosts in the book and the lack of special abilities in this story, I loved this book. I became a child when Tom entered the garden and I went with Tom as he wandered through time.
I’m not a fan of ghost stories and I like my magical stories to include super powers, but despite the ghosts in the book and the lack of special abilities in this story, I loved this book. I became a child when Tom entered the garden and I went with Tom as he wandered through time.
Did I just cry through the entire (admittedly short) last chapter of a children's book? Seriously????
OK, let's get the preliminaries out of the way first. This is very much a period piece - and, for better or worse, and I can't imagine my (now grown) kids having got through this ... or, for that matter, sitting through the first few chapters of the book, even if someone was reading it to them. For kids who grew up with (or, even more so, traveled with) video games (and video game consoles) and DVD players (or VCR's) and, yes, the Internet, well, ... it's a bridge too far. And, sure, my kids are (and were) very much urban/suburbanites ... so the fascination and satisfaction with (or interest in) a garden ... just doesn't resonate .... But, ultimately, that's just the (by today's standards, painfully slow) opening gambit.
Also, this is no Time Traveler's Wife, (a personal favorite), even though that was the book that kept popping into my mind as I read this. Obviously, it's a children's book; as noted above, it's (extremely) dated; I must admit, I didn't love the prose - by modern standards, it's heavy and stilted and ... not just British, but formal/stuffy to the point of distraction....
But ... but ... but ... if you can get through the first third (which, I admit, was more plodding and off-putting than I expected), it slowly starts to grow on you. ... And it's worth it, because ... it's a slender volume (again, it was written for kids), so as you get towards the final portions, the mosaic starts to assemble, and the heart of the piece begins to expose itself. ... And the end, well, ... as predictable as it is (OK, OK, it was written for kids, not adult sleuths raised on a broad range and healthy diet of whodunits) ... is ... sublime? precious? touching? appropriate? ... ultimately, very nicely done.
In any event, this was a book I'd been hearing about ... forever.... Many authors refer back to it (for a host of reasons) ... and many describe it as a formative work (although, frankly, others suggest the hype - even at the time - was overrated), so I finally got my hands on a copy. I have a hard time grasping how it became so popular in the 1950's and 1960's, but kid's books (and literature) were different. (It is what it is.) ... Nor do I have any recollection of my parents reading it to me ... or reading it myself.... Nor have I seen any of the three (3 ?!?!?) BBC adaptations, the movie, or the stage performance. But here's my point: this clearly resonated with an entire generation of Brits (and plenty of others as well) .... regardless of how it stood the test of time....
Random observation: It's kind of funny reading this in 2019, when (sadly, inexplicably, maddeningly) a significant segment of our society seems willing to tolerate (if not facilitate) the return of measles to the public consciousness. I'm guessing that - until the news stories of the recent outbreaks - my kids had never given a moment's thought to measles, didn't know anyone (other than their parents, of course) who had contracted measles, or could envision the concept of family separation or isolation due to measles quarantine. But who knows? Maybe (and I fervently hope this is not the case), the next generation will be more familiar, sympathetic, and empathetic to kids with measles as the disease again gains traction and returns to the mainstream. Alas.
OK, let's get the preliminaries out of the way first. This is very much a period piece - and, for better or worse, and I can't imagine my (now grown) kids having got through this ... or, for that matter, sitting through the first few chapters of the book, even if someone was reading it to them. For kids who grew up with (or, even more so, traveled with) video games (and video game consoles) and DVD players (or VCR's) and, yes, the Internet, well, ... it's a bridge too far. And, sure, my kids are (and were) very much urban/suburbanites ... so the fascination and satisfaction with (or interest in) a garden ... just doesn't resonate .... But, ultimately, that's just the (by today's standards, painfully slow) opening gambit.
Also, this is no Time Traveler's Wife, (a personal favorite), even though that was the book that kept popping into my mind as I read this. Obviously, it's a children's book; as noted above, it's (extremely) dated; I must admit, I didn't love the prose - by modern standards, it's heavy and stilted and ... not just British, but formal/stuffy to the point of distraction....
But ... but ... but ... if you can get through the first third (which, I admit, was more plodding and off-putting than I expected), it slowly starts to grow on you. ... And it's worth it, because ... it's a slender volume (again, it was written for kids), so as you get towards the final portions, the mosaic starts to assemble, and the heart of the piece begins to expose itself. ... And the end, well, ... as predictable as it is (OK, OK, it was written for kids, not adult sleuths raised on a broad range and healthy diet of whodunits) ... is ... sublime? precious? touching? appropriate? ... ultimately, very nicely done.
In any event, this was a book I'd been hearing about ... forever.... Many authors refer back to it (for a host of reasons) ... and many describe it as a formative work (although, frankly, others suggest the hype - even at the time - was overrated), so I finally got my hands on a copy. I have a hard time grasping how it became so popular in the 1950's and 1960's, but kid's books (and literature) were different. (It is what it is.) ... Nor do I have any recollection of my parents reading it to me ... or reading it myself.... Nor have I seen any of the three (3 ?!?!?) BBC adaptations, the movie, or the stage performance. But here's my point: this clearly resonated with an entire generation of Brits (and plenty of others as well) .... regardless of how it stood the test of time....
Random observation: It's kind of funny reading this in 2019, when (sadly, inexplicably, maddeningly) a significant segment of our society seems willing to tolerate (if not facilitate) the return of measles to the public consciousness. I'm guessing that - until the news stories of the recent outbreaks - my kids had never given a moment's thought to measles, didn't know anyone (other than their parents, of course) who had contracted measles, or could envision the concept of family separation or isolation due to measles quarantine. But who knows? Maybe (and I fervently hope this is not the case), the next generation will be more familiar, sympathetic, and empathetic to kids with measles as the disease again gains traction and returns to the mainstream. Alas.
Read for Children's Book Challenge. Not read this in a while, and had managed to lose my copy by lending it to my old boss, when she was dealing with some casework set along the river to Ely! So I had to get it electronically to read this time. I like time-slip books a lot, so this one is right up my street, and I can absolutely see why it's become such a classic. Loved the ending.
Pearce left me with mixed feelings throughout my reading of her book. It is without a doubt that her rich language has created a magical, vivid world- one that all children would want to be a part of. It is this language that makes it all the more heartbreaking when Tom has to leave this world, live in the present and move on with his life.
Another positive to the text is the philosophical questions that Pearce evokes. The audience is left questioning the concept of time, looking more deeply into the nature of aging- and wondering what is even real. I did actually really enjoy the ongoing debate over which characters were ghosts- and I am sure that this would promote some excellent discussions.
All this being said, I often found it quite difficult to engage with the text, particularly towards the middle of the book. I sometimes felt that Hatty and Tom's encounters were anticlimactic, with a lack of purpose and meaning behind them, and I found myself wondering what it was all amounting to. However, I felt that her writing did become more focused towards the end of the story, and amounted to an excellent final plot twist.
Another positive to the text is the philosophical questions that Pearce evokes. The audience is left questioning the concept of time, looking more deeply into the nature of aging- and wondering what is even real. I did actually really enjoy the ongoing debate over which characters were ghosts- and I am sure that this would promote some excellent discussions.
All this being said, I often found it quite difficult to engage with the text, particularly towards the middle of the book. I sometimes felt that Hatty and Tom's encounters were anticlimactic, with a lack of purpose and meaning behind them, and I found myself wondering what it was all amounting to. However, I felt that her writing did become more focused towards the end of the story, and amounted to an excellent final plot twist.
I've been meaning to get around to reading this for years - it's one of those on every '100+ children's books you should read' list and when I found it for 20p in a charity shop in Leeds, I thought, well, why not.
It's a simple enough premise and story, but there is a certain charm to it that carries you along and keeps you interested in both the story and the characters (although you feel very badly for poor Peter, the main character's brother, who is kept perpetually on the edge of the action with measles and distance).
The climax is satisfying and the denouement is articulate and heart-felt if not particularly inspired.
It's a simple enough premise and story, but there is a certain charm to it that carries you along and keeps you interested in both the story and the characters (although you feel very badly for poor Peter, the main character's brother, who is kept perpetually on the edge of the action with measles and distance).
The climax is satisfying and the denouement is articulate and heart-felt if not particularly inspired.