Showing posts with label Frances Hodgson Burnett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frances Hodgson Burnett. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Brand New to the Little Library of Rescued Books is this brand new books which is one of my all time favourites. It is one of the easier classics to read and has been made into a beautiful film. Below you can take a sneak preview. I am thinking of bringing in my Video player so students can individually watch some of the videos I have kept; this could be a new experience! Originally this book was published as a serial format and it was published in its entirety in 1910. The central character, Mary Lennox is a snotty-nosed, middle class brat who you could almost classify as narcissistic. She has recently been orphaned and has been given a home by her uncle in a remote and quiet country house. Her uncle, Mr Craven, doesn't seem to have visitors, in fact, he has almost completely cut himself off from people since his wife died. Mary is intrigued by the garden and finds a hidden side to the house when she hears a crying child. She discovers an overgrown garden which is walled off from the rest and her curiosity gets the better of her and soon she urgently seeks the key to unlock the secrets of the garden.

Monday, July 18, 2011

A little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This book is one of my all time favourites and set in the early 1900’s. It tells a story of the extremely rich and the extremely poor. It shows how differently they were treated and how much they were segregated. Sara Crew was born in India to a very rich man named Ralph Crewe, he is very close to his daughter Sara so he is very upset when he has to send her away to boarding school because at that time India wasn’t a safe place for children to live; the climate was terrible and there was a war going on. Since Sara was very wealthy she was treated very well at the boarding school, she had her own toy room, a pony, and a very extravagant wardrobe. But when Mr. Crewe dies of Brain Fever, a very common disease in India at that time, and she is told she has no money and is an orphan. Mrs. Minchin; the lady who owns the boarding school wants to throw her out on the streets, but instead she keeps her as a servant, she takes all her belongings and makes her sleep in the attic, and she deprives her of food. Then when an Indian man moves in next door to the boarding house Sara befriends him. She speaks to him in Hindi and he was very impressed, but he wasn’t really just an Indian man, he is a friend of Sara’s father. He becomes her legal guardian and keeps the fortune until she is of age. Click on the link below to watch the trailer to the movie:

http://www.videodetective.com/movies/trailers/a-little-princess-trailer/5637