Product Description

A beautiful and timeless tale of the enchantment worked by a long-forgotten garden on three children in Victorian England.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1522369 in Books
• Published on: 1987-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 232 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up Burnett's classic story of a disagreeable and self-centered little girl and her equally disagreeable invalid cousin is as real and wise and enthralling now as it was when it was first written over 75 years ago. The strength of her characterizations pulls readers into the story, and the depth inherent in the seemingly simple plot continues to make this sometimes forgotten story as vital to the maturation of young readers as Tom Sawyer and Little Women. Hague's illustrations enhance the story beautifully, capturing as they do, both the old-fashioned and timeless quality of the tale. The charm, clarity, and muted tones of Hague's paintings add dimension to each part of the tale. A reissue of an old classic to be treasured by a new generation of children (and their parents)! Constance A. Mellon, Department of Library & Information Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"This adaptation has its own special appeal. Although considerably shorter than the original, it remains faithful to the plot. Allen's oversize chalk drawings are handsome. Children sometimes pass over Burnett's story because by the time they are able to read it, they are no longer interested in the subject. For them, this adaptation will work well."--Booklist.  


From the Hardcover edition. -- Review

Review
“It is only the exceptional author who can write a book about children with sufficient skill, charm, simplicity, and significance to make it acceptable to both young and old. Mrs. Burnett is one of the few thus gifted.”—The New York Times


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

The best version-keeps in character with the book
I have now seen two other versions of The Secret Garden, and this one (the first I ever saw) Remains my favorite. The reason is I have a couple problems with the other versions
In the old 1949 Edition, Mary wasn't portrayed correctly. She's supposed to be (at the beginning) a girl with an attitude (for lack of a better way to put it.) She's supposed to be completely emotionally unnafected by her parent's death (according to the book)as they had never attempted to spend time with her. In the old 1949 version, Mary has an emotional outburst upon learning of her parent's death. That is out of charachter. In this version, she's more concerned about the doll she dropped when she was told. Her attitude in this 1987 version seems more in charachter.
In the 1993 version I do not like the way they took the concept of "magic" and twisted it into a seance in the garden. That is extremely out of charachter with the book. When the book speaks of "Magic" it almost hints at miricles/the hand of God. This 1987 movie kept in charachter with that.
Basically, I think this version is truer to the mysterious (in a good way) tone of the book. the manor is beautiful! and the whole scenery is in charachter with the book. The only thing they contradicted the book in was having Mary and Colin not related. In the book they're cousins. But in this version they're unrelated, which is obviously because they have Mary and Colin getting married. The only thing I would change is the actors that played the two boys, Colin and Dicken. They were pretty good actors, but both were too old. Dickon should have been someone more Mary's age, and the actor that played Colin (although he has a sufficient baby face) reveals his real age at the end when he can stand up and walk. Way too tall. Look at the scene with him and his father walking together in the garden. Colin's way to tall to be 10 (his supposed age). Other than that, this is a superb version of the movie, which any Secret Garden fan should own. Hallmark has quality! (insert gold crown here)

Good story and filming, not good acting
I have always loved the story of The Secret Garden. I have seen the 1949 Margaret O'Brien movie, the 1993 movie with Kate Maberly, and a version done for the BBC in the 70's or 80's. All were very good. This one, however, is not so good. It is the most faithful to Frances Hodgson Burnett's story, but it doesn't give you the uplifting feeling that the book and other movies do. Gennie James is downright annoying as Mary, and I hated that the writer and director portrayed Dickon as a mystic who knows the future. THe location filming is very well-done, the story is great, but most of the actors didn't do a good job. Not a version of this great story to be remembered.

DVD could be better
I really like this version of The Secret Garden, and it would rate more stars if the DVD had been better. The transfer appears to have been made from material a few generations removed from the negative. The result is a fairly grainy picture with quite a bit of dirt, dust, etc. and lacking in sharpness, clarity, contrast, and detail. The picture isn't horrible, but it just should've been better--and I expected better from Hallmark. I don't want to disuade anyone who loves this movie from buying a copy on DVD, I just wish companies would stop viewing their films as "product" to sell and start treating them as artistic efforts to be treated with care. To do any less shows a lack of respect for the artists who made the film and the viewers who expect that they will not be given a defective item when they plunk down their money. In conclusion, this is a good movie, but let the buyer beware.