I finished reading this to C the other night. It’s not the first time I’ve read it, but it has been a long time, years perhaps. I know hubby read it to M when she was four, and I listened in, but I haven’t actually picked it up on my own for quite a while. So, when my in-person book group selected it as a book for April (whoops, a month behind!), I suggested to C that we read it out loud together.
On the listening end, she didn’t enjoy it as much, I think. She often faded out, only to hear something that caught her interest, but missed something in between. She had a hard time with the dialogue, and didn’t really appreciate the long, rambling passages about growing things. In short, she wasn’t all that capitvated.
I, as a reader, was completely captivated. I loved reading the dialogue, and the language was so much fun to feel coming off my tongue. I know I would have missed things if I hadn’t read it out loud. Some aside of Martha’s or Mrs. Medlock’s. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching the world, and Colin and Mary come alive.
I guess I can only hope that C will want to read it again herself, someday.
The Book Nut 
This was one of my favorite books growing up sadly I can’t remember hardly anything about it. It would be fun to read it as an adult. I know when I read Little Women last year it was interesting to catch so many things that I’m sure I didn’t get as a kid.
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That’s one I’d like to read again, too. Thanks for reminding me of it.
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I’ve always loved The Secret Garden, it was a firm favourite in childhood, along with Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Little Women. I think I’m going to have to put them all down for a re-read!
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I discovered this book just before the movie came out (maybe 8 years ago?) and was really quite stunned because A Little Princess was one of my childhood favorites. And, now, I realize I’ve left ALP off all the recent lists of favorites – funny. I thought The Secret Garden was absolutely captivating. It made me want to have my own little walled garden but, barring that, I’d happily have taken a trip to England to sneak into someone else’s. 🙂
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I haven’t read this book since I was a child (and I’m not even sure if it was the complete version). I’ll have to pick it up sometime.I’ve visited your blog because of Dewey’s blogroll game at Hidden Side of a leaf. I love your header image!
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