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Philippa Pearce’s children’s classic is a book I would like to read every year. For some authors, time travel is a device they use to make interesting things happen. But Tom’s Midnight Garden is about time in a more fundamental sense. And the result is a touching story that could be enjoyed by people of any age.
What it’s about
Tom Long is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle during the summer holidays, because his brother has measles. His initial disappointment transforms into delight when he discovers a secret garden that appears each night, when the old grandfather clock in the hallway strikes thirteen.
He makes a friend in the garden, Hatty, and the two have a wonderful, blissful time climbing trees, making bows and arrows and playing together. Tom wants the bliss to last forever – he doesn’t want to go home to his family, at least not yet. Can he find a way of staying in the garden for eternity?
What I liked best about Tom’s Midnight Garden
- At its heart is a beautiful friendship that blossoms in the garden. Tom wants to escape his mollycoddling aunt and uncle, while Hatty is a loner among her indifferent cousins and cruel aunt. They come together in the garden, and the fond companionship between them is moving to read about.
- It’s about time, in lots of different ways. Tom gradually realises that he is going back in time and discovering the house in its former glory, before it became a block of flats with no garden. The whole book is an examination of time: of seasons, of children growing up, of a house and its family changing.
- A gentle humour pervades the whole book. It’s not a comical book, as such, but Tom’s interactions with his aunt and uncle, who are ignorant of his adventures, are most entertaining. And Philippa Pearce has a light, playful writing style.
Who would like Tom’s Midnight Garden?
I read Tom’s Midnight Garden to each of my children when they were quite young – about five or six.
I had to explain a lot, but they enjoyed listening to the story and talking about it.
The story itself is beautiful, and would be suitable for almost any age. Tom’s and Hatty’s adventures together are gorgeously described, and there’s little true danger.
Some of the language is a bit antiquated (it was published in 1958 and is written in a very ‘literary’ style), which makes it suitable for bedtime reading aloud, perhaps more than reading independently.
In summary
Tom’s Midnight Garden is a literary classic, and one that I plan to read repeatedly through my life. There is a magic in the way Tom steps back in time into the secret garden, but equally magical are the human relationships that lie at the heart of the story. A joy to read.
Next step
You can buy Tom’s Midnight Garden on Amazon.