BURNETT, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. illus. by Inga Moore. 279p. CIP. Candlewick. 2008. RTE $21.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3161-1. LC 2006051838.
Summary of the Plot
A spoiled and neglected ten year old girl fogotten by her absentee parents raised by native servants untila cholera epidemic suddenly kills her family and serveral servants. Mary is sent to live at Missalthwaite Manor her depressed and widowed uncle's home. Here she meets her maid Martha who lets her in on the secret of the manor a secret garden that has been locked away for the last ten years. Mary hears what she thinks is crying but Martha first tells her it is the wind blowing across the moor. Then when Mary hears it again she is told one of the other maids is suffering from a toothache. Finally, Mary finds the source of the crying her own cousin Colin. Before finding Colin though she finds the secret garden and meets Martha's brother Dickon. Colin then makes the decision he will go to the secret garden with Mary and Dickon. During this time the master of the manor has been away traveling trying to lessen his grief from his wife's untimely death ten years before. The children decide to keep Colin's good health a secret until his Father's return. Finally, Archibald Craven returns home to find his son a changed young man.
Vi's Vibes
At first this story was slow for me but then as I became more involved in the storyline I became absorbed in it. The indomitable spirit of Mary to search for the garden. Then of Colin making the decision that he will live and not only live but walk. This is a story of hope and the resiliency
of children.
Gr 3–6—First published in 1911, Burnett's tale of burgeoning self-awareness, newfound friendship, and the healing effects of nature is presented in an elegant, oversize volume and handsomely illustrated with Moore's detailed ink and watercolor paintings. Cleanly laid-out text pages are balanced by artwork ranging from delicate spot images to full-page renderings. The outdoor scenes are beautifully depicted, presenting realistic images of animals and flowers, with the hues gradually warming in sync with the story's progression from winter's browns and beiges to the lush colors of spring. The young protagonists—lonely Mary Lennox; her sickly and spoiled cousin, Colin; and likable local lad Dickon—bound to life in the evocative paintings, which reflect the wonders of transformations in both nature and in a child's heart. All in all, a lovely interpretation.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
February 20, 2008
Whatever the opposite of seasonal affective disorder is, I have it. I love the winter, especially in Manhattan where the funneled winds dare you to leave your house in the morning. I am dubious of spring's high expectations for renewal, and of summer's pressures; those months when it is commonly considered an infraction to be inside ever. Which is perhaps the reason I have always found solace in Frances Burnett's The Secret Garden.
First published in 1911, The Secret Garden is the story of Mary Lennox, a bitter and selfish little girl who hates the world and everyone in it. After she is orphaned by a cholera epidemic in India, she is sent to live with an estranged uncle on his sprawlingly creepy English country estate. When she first arrives, she is pale and thin and sporting a personality that would smell like sour milk if it could. She detests the outdoors. With a little help from her maid and a boy named Dickon, Mary gradually develops the pleasant demeanor of a normal girl. So paradoxically, India made Mary pale, hostile and unaccustomed to strange foods, whereas England makes her healthy, rose-cheeked and full of Zen. As the book's title unsubtly suggests, there is also a garden involved, complete with hidden door and buried key. But as new life springs forth in the garden, so blooms new hope in the wounded hearts of each character.
In many obvious ways, there is no finer novel — young adult or otherwise — to reread while those first fingers of green are poking up through the ground. There is no single book that can more readily transport you into spring as you sit underneath a tree and listen to some bird whose name you don't remember whistle a tune that you do. And because The Secret Garden is the first real novel I remember reading period, it has become a fundamental part of my worldview year-round. No matter how unique the country house described by T.S. Eliot, Tom Stoppard, Virginia Woolf or even Jane Austen — for me, they are all the house from The Secret Garden.
But the real reason to love this book is because, not unlike the garden hidden in plain sight around which it centers, the novel itself has its own dark secret. And that is the following: It is not a very nice book, despite its goody-goody reputation. The illustrations, wistful sketches that adorn each chapter, should have been rendered by Edward Gorey. The Secret Garden is about neglect. Of plants and of people.
Back in India, Mary's mother was a socialite who never wanted her. After the cholera epidemic dissipates, it takes fully five days before Mary is found alone, in the dark of her bungalow. Her only company had been a snake. Mary is taken to England, where everyone she meets repeatedly insults her to her face. Her only friend is a robin and her only solace is found in being alone. Mary stops verbally abusing her maid just long enough to make one human friend, a little boy who talks to sheep. Finding him kindred, she fesses up about the hidden garden and develops a semi-romantic bond. One night, Mary hears crying in a distant corridor of the mansion and goes to investigate. Curled up among the dusty tapestries is a different boy — Colin, her uncle's sickly son. It takes Mary, little strumpet that she is, about a page and a half to spill the seeds about the secret garden. Thus the unspoken love triangle is in place, diffused only by Colin pointing out that he and Mary are cousins.
The Secret Garden is half charm, half wickedness, half summer and half winter. At one point Mary asks her maid why the garden was locked in the first place. She gradually learns of its painful history, but in that innocent question lies the lasting magic of The Secret Garden. It is always the flowers that one notices first before inspecting the dirt below.
You Must Read This is edited and produced by Ellen Silva.
Accessed Septemper 12, 2009 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19204506storyId=19204506
Utilization for Library Classes
Hot Potato
It is very important that we think positively about ourselves and each other. I will have students throw a beanbag to represent the hot potato. They will then give an example of thinking positively about ourselves or each other. We will first discuss what thinking positiviely is and I will give various examples. An example might be when I think that people don't like me because I'm not a very fun person to be around, I start acting like a person that is not fun to be around. I become friendly. But when I realize that I am a fun person, Then I act friendlier and people are able to see that I really am a fun person to be around. Ask students to think of things we could do to increase our self-esteem or the way we think about ourselves (smile often, don't put down yourself, be kind to others, compliment others, think positive thoughts, exercise, eat healthy, get plenty of rest, serve others, accept compliments from others, etc.). I will then throw the hot potato to a child and he/she will respond with a positive statement about themselves. For instance they might say I like the way I look in this color. We will go around and around until every child has had a turn or elects to pass. I will make sure that if a child elects to pass that the potato comes back to them another time to make sure that they really have nothing to say or if they just need more time to think about it. This should be a fast paced game. If there are several children who elect to pass then I would probably change the game up by having the other students in the circle say something positive about their classmates.
Book Cover
Bibliography
Barrett, J. (1978). Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.
Summary of the Plot of the Story
This story begins with Grandpa fixing breakfast for the family. An unusual incident happened at breakfast when Grandpa flipped apancake from the pan onto Henry's head. That night Grandpa told his best tall tale ever about the town of Chewandswallow. The town of Chewandswallow was unique in the fact that the community ate whatever came from the sky. They did not have weather that the children and Grandpa experienced but instead of rain it was soup or juice. Or instead of thunderstorms it blewin hamburgers. At first things were fine in the twon of Chewandswallow with the weather the sanitation department was able to clean up the leftover foood. But the weather began to change where it was no longer food items that were served together. Then it wuold blow in so much food the sanitation deparment was no longer able to keep up and finally just quit. The townspeople decided to abandon the town of Chewandswallow. When they arrived at their new town the most difficult thing they had to deal with was going to the supermarket to pick out the food they were going to eat. Henry and his sister stayed awake until the very end of Grandpa's bedtime story.Vi's Vibes:
Reviews:
But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers.
Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and so did the portions. Chewandswallow was plagued by damaging floods and storms of huge food. the town was a mess and the people feared for their lives.
Something had to be done, and in a hurry.
Synopsis:
Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers--until the weather takes a turn for the worse.
Synopsis:
The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast lunch and dinner.
But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers.
Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and so did the portions. Chewandswallow was plagued by damaging floods and storms of huge food. the town was a mess and the people feared for their lives.
Something had to be done, and in a hurry.
Oh, I would love to live in a land where I would never have to worry about my next meal; where I would never have to cook; where I would never have to go for grocery shopping; where life would be delicious and relaxing.
In the town of Chewandswallow, all this is a reality. Life is delicious! Raining soup and juice, snowing mashed potatoes and blowing storms of hamburgers, the sky over Chewandswallow is full of surprises. Three times per day, the weather serves people with different meals.
Judi Barrett's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" is a charming children's book. Starting on a Sunday morning with grey sketches of a typical family eating breakfast, the book is an incredible journey to imagination and creativity. The grandfather flips pancakes and the kids brag about how much they can eat. The family pets run around the kitchen, grandfather is distracted and one pancake gets stuck on the ceiling. As it falls on his brother's head, grandfather remembers of a story. After the chaotic daytime, grandfather decides to tell the kids the story of Chewandswallow, a small town, nested between mountains and oceans.
Although being like any other town with shops, restaurants and jobs, with people working and kids playing, Chewandswallow was different because "Everything that everyone ate came from the sky." All the residents of the town walked around prepared to eat the fell that fell from the sky. And everyone was happy with this lifestyle as they wouldn't have to worry about money for grocery shopping, cooking or wasting time in preparing the meal.
One day, the generous weather changed and Chewandswallow was covered with peanut butter and mayonnaise. Even worse, the food kept growing bigger and bigger. Huge pancakes asphyxiated the school and a giant tomato tornado swept Chewandswallow away. Confused and panicky, people had to abandon their homes.
Huge sandwiches served as boats so that people could find their way across the oceans and the mountains in search of a new town. When they got to a safe place, they realized that food would no longer fall from the sky and that they had to fight for a living. After quite sometime they all got used to the new lifestyle and they forgot about Chewandswallow.
One of my first thoughts when I first read "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" was that there is no story and no message in this rather childish plot. What was the meaning of distraction of Chewandswallow? And why would anyone read such a disastrous scenario to a child before bedtime?
Then, I realized that there are a lot of things in the book that actually make it a children's classic. Written in a neat and charming way, the book features innovative ideas and writing. For example, "mustard clouds", "soda drizzle" and a "wind that brings in baked beans" are sprinkled in the book pages creating an utterly pioneer atmosphere. The book is so easy to read that children may read it by themselves.
Ron Barrett's excellent illustrations are detailed and vivid, picturing Chewandswallow residents running after food, trying to catch it on their plates. To my view, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" is a hymn to creativity. And after seeing my son repeating the story and thinking how it would be to live in a town like Chewandswallow, I realized that this is the book's magnitude: its entertaining fantasy.
Utilization for Library Classes
I would have this book be a read-aloud. We would discuss how the people of Chewandswallow got tired of the same food like the jelly and cream cheese sandwiches. Also how they became bogged down with pancakes and floods of maple syrup. The students and I would discuss proper nutrition and I would have them bring in a plate of healthy snacks that our little town in the library could share when the class blows in from their room.
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