The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel

Product Description Green-growing secrets and powerful magic await you at Misselthwaite Manor, now reimagined in this bewitching graphic novel adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved tale. From Mariah Marsden, author of the critically acclaimed Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel, comes the second installment in this series of retold children's classics. Ten-year-old Mary Lennox arrives at a secluded estate on the Yorkshire moors with a scowl and a chip on her shoulder. First, there’s Martha Sowerby: the too-cheery maid with bothersome questions who seems out of place in the dreary manor. Then there’s the elusive Uncle Craven, Mary’s only remaining family—whom she’s not permitted to see. And finally, there are the mysteries that seem to haunt the run-down place: rumors of a lost garden with a tragic past, and a midnight wail that echoes across the moors at night. As Mary begins to explore this new world alongside her ragtag companions—a cocky robin redbreast, a sour-faced gardener, and a boy who can talk to animals—she learns that even the loneliest of hearts can grow roots in rocky soil. Given new life as a graphic novel in illustrator Hanna Luechtefeld's whimsical style, The Secret Garden is more enchanting and relevant than ever before. At the back of the book, readers can learn about the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett and the history of British colonialism that contextualizes the original novel. From School Library Journal Gr 3–6—Marsden and Luechtefeld's graphic novel reimagines Burnett's story of a lonely girl who blossoms while tending to a garden. Recently orphaned 10-year-old Mary Lennox is sent to live with her uncle Craven at gloomy Misselthwaite Manor in the Yorkshire moors. Sour and standoffish, Mary initially rebuffs the kindness of maid Martha Sowerby and wanders the grounds alone. Discovering a long-abandoned, locked-away garden, she decides to revive it, which leads her to both animal charmer (and brother to Martha) Dickon Sowerby and Colin Craven, her sickly cousin whose existence has been concealed from her. As the children transform the garden, happiness again seems possible at Misselthwaite Manor. This pleasant, evenly paced retelling is a good entry point for reluctant readers into classic children's literature. The parallels between the tending of the garden and character development within the story are reflected in the beautiful, hand drawn—style artwork, which gradually brightens from a washed-over neutral palette to lighter. The biggest change to the narrative is the decision to remove mention of India because those parts "don't do justice to the history of British oppression in colonial India." A brief biography of Burnett, a glossary, and a discussion of places and spaces from the original novel are appended. As in the original book, Mary and the other main characters are white. VERDICT A new take on a beloved story that will delight readers young and old. Recommended for all libraries.—Pearl Derlaga, York County P.L., VA Review “A new take on a beloved story that will delight readers young and old.” (School Library Journal) “Another wondrous installment in the retold children’s classics series.” (Booklist Online) “Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic book is beautifully presented in this charming graphic novel.” (Youth Service Book Reviews) About the Author Mariah Marsden grew up hunting for faeries amidst the old hills of the Missouri Ozarks. A former children's librarian and co-author of Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel, she earned her MFA in Creative Writing & Media Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is now a PhD candidate in English at The Ohio State University. She writes about the dreams and difficulties of girlhood, the folklore of her region, and the complexities of rural life. She's still on the lookout for faeries. Hanna Luechtefeld spent the early part of their childhood in New Hampshire, the later part in Missouri, and all of it in the woods.