Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Secret Garden: Classic for a Reason

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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I continue my read-aloud campaign with The Secret Garden; in fact, we read the exact same copy that I read as a child. Charming! I’m sure you are familiar with the story: in 1900 or so, Mary Lennox is a sickly, neglected, self-centered, unpleasant 10-year-old in India; her British parents die of cholera. Not great! She is sent to her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors, where she continues to be unpleasant and selfish until forced to GO OUTSIDE. This is, I am […]

Do you believe in Magic?

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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Cbr11bingo Youths I’m not sure I ever read this century-old classic of children’s literature when I was a kid, but I can understand why readers have loved it over the decades. It’s got everything: orphans, woodland creatures, an immense mansion on the moors of Yorkshire, and lots of secrets! And the overall message is a timeless one that really can’t be repeated enough — mental health and physical health are closely related and spending time in the natural world is good for the soul. The […]

She made herself stronger by fighting with the wind.

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodson Burnett

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“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done–then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.” I don’t have a whole lot to say or add about this book, in same way I didn’t have a whole lot to say or add about A Little Princess. I think I like A Little Princess better because the […]

The Perfect Book For Spring

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For some unknown reason, The Secret Garden was an overlooked book in my childhood. My parents mostly read science fiction to me and I was content in my personal reading of girlhood staples like the Anne of Green Gables series, Little Women, and The Baby-Sitters Club. But because I’ve really been enjoying the Misselthwaite webseries based on The Secret Garden, I figured it was finally time to give this classic a read. Mary Lennox is a little girl living in early 20th century India. When […]



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