The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) (Little Golden Book)

This was the book that "hooked" me on reading when I was in the 4th grade; so, I re-read it to see if it stood the test of time. It was everything I remembered. I was an only child and very lonely at the time -- also, I think I was an "old soul," so I really related to Mary. I had bought a hard copy for my granddaughter which prompted my re-reading of the book to see if it was too childish for her. It's not at all childish, but I think she will enjoy it. She's in the 6th grade and has a younger sister -- still, I think she'll like it.

I accidentally ordered another edition which didn't state that it was "retold" and shortened. it was disappointing. It was actually a "Classic Starts" edition and not at all what I wanted.. THIS edition is perfect. Exactly what I wanted.

This was a great, entertaining little book. Although it was about small children there were lesson to be learned by anyone of any age. It was great to see the change that took place in the children once they allowed others into their lives. Also, I liked how the book showed anyone can change and how positive thinking can help you to do so. And one great lesson that everyone could benefit from, the fact that the happy, caring and loving family who everyone adored was the family who was considered "poor". Proof once again that money isn't what makes you happy or fixes what ails you, love, kindness and caring does. Good book, didn't want it to end!!

I've always loved the story of The Secret Garden. When I found out that it was in the Puffin Classics hardcover form, I had to order it. Just a quick note about the size since they appear in the same list as the Penguin Classics when doing a search, the Puffin Classics( hardcover version) are smaller in size than the Penguin hardcover Classics. You can see the dimensions listed but most, including myself, don't usually bother taking note of that. The size doesn't take away from the beauty of the book. I'm on a mission to collect all the Puffin & Penguin Classics. I was really happy to see that the Secret Garden was chosen to be part of this collection. I would love to see all the classics in the Puffin hardcover form.
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This is our family favorite. A great way to spend 2 hours while traveling on the road together. Pleasing for adults and small children. Great companion to Silas Marner as well. The FOTF Radio dramas are masterfully produced, and they deftly and quietly bring out Christian themes such as the transforming power of love that you don't get in school. We listen to them over and over again in the car.

A childhood favorite, this is the story of Sara, a young girl who faces adversity with courage, grace and a giving spirit. She arrives at a select London boarding school a "Princess" but becomes a charity case upon her father's death. Throughout Sara remembers her father's words that she would always be his princess and endeavors to fulfill that promise. Sara's princess is not spoiled and demanding, but kind, gracious and giving.

In a time where girls are constantly questioning themselves, these are words we all need to hear: "I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses. All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?"

I also highly recommend the version with Tasha Tudor illustrations. They are lovely and Tasha certainly studied her fair share of period clothing to know exactly the right way to illustrate this story.

For Christmas one year I received The Cricket in Times Square (Chester Cricket and His Friends),Stuart Little and The Secret Garden (Oxford Children's Classics). I was probably 10-ish at the time and devoured the first two immediately. I put the Secret Garden aside for several months before finally starting it. As fanciful as I found The Cricket in Times Square and Stuart Little, The Secret Garden captured my imagination through the details of the gardens and their adventures. As I clicked back to see the girl's name, I see the the store.com review uses the same phrase for how the garden "captures their imagination", referring to the characters in the book.

Writing this review reminds me that I need to tell my mom those were among my top 10 favorite childhood books.

Every young person needs to be read The Little Princess at least once in their childhood! This is a classic to be reread and shared. Sara is a true heroine worthy of emulation. Please don't pass this one up!
I already owned a copy but bought this one as I'm a sucker for a beautiful cover. My 15 year old grabbed it as soon as it arrived and read it for herself even though it's been read to her at least twice. She devoured it and declared it much better than the movie.

This copy of a classic book is incredible. I bought this for my beloved friend who somehow missed reading this as a child as a start to her home library. I am excited to be able to hand her a copy of the caliber of this copy to keep and one day read with her daughters .. I love this story! Every one should take the time to read the magic that comes when a wordsmith is given a great story... My friend was as impressed as I was and could not believe that in our world of kindle a book was still being printed with illustrations as lovely as this. Thank you to the publisher.

I never read ‘The Secret Garden’ as a child, nor any of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s books. Now in my second childhood, this was, therefore, my first encounter and I enjoyed the read even if there are failings from a writer’s perspective in the 21st century.

However, as I started reading I found the descriptions and characterisations were pulling me into a secret world. The author had a way of using short phrases to capture a sense of the characters and settings. Maybe the technique would be hard to replicate today, but it worked in the context of the novel and the period in which it is set. This was a time before the First World War for both characters and author. This may explain a certain innocence that two world wars dispelled.

Locked into the words and images, I was drawn deeper into Mary's world and her explorations. Robin was a cute character that felt almost human in his mannerisms. Some might say anthropomorphic - Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, and intentions to non-human entities – but for me, the characteristics fitted the bird I knew from growing up in England. He becomes the character that ‘unlocks’ the secret garden and the healing that Mary and others need.

When she was in the garden, I could see it and sense it. Some might feel that Dickon is unreal and yet he came alive for me, first in what his sister Martha said about him and then when Mary met him. I’ve been lucky that I have known a few special people like him and the character echoed memories of those that have a rapport with wild animals.

When Mary found the source of the crying, the book added another character and another level. Damaged characters and healing is a theme from the start of the novel, but it’s the secret garden that’s the catalyst. I liked all the interactions between the characters, and the use of mirror images that Mary and others must face to grow.

When Spring arrived, there was magic is in the air. That is what makes this book work for me and why I suspect that it still survives alongside other children’s classics. Frances Hodgson Burnett captures that feeling of magic that in many ways exist in the natural world around us. There are elements that felt wrong to me reading in 2017, but omniscient POV, idealised social situations, and outdated attitudes were, unfortunately, the norm when the novel was written so they didn’t spoil my enjoyment – just deducted one star as a writer with a conscience. But that star magically re-appeared.

I've read this several times, and am currently reading it aloud to my son. I love this book. It makes me wish for spring every time. The Magic of love, friendship, and God waking up the earth and hearts is beautiful.

Although the secret garden is a classic I had never read it until now. My favorite part was when Mary found the key to the garden. The garden becomes the centerpoint for all the children's lives. The garden changes them for the better.

This is a story about a young spoiled English girl name Mary who is born and raised in India who loses her neglectful parents during a flu epidemic that kills her parents and all their household staff. After becoming an orphan she is shipped off to live with an elderly distant uncle in England who she has never heard of and whose wife has passed 10 year prior. After being neglected yet again and left in the care of her uncle's servant's. Mary begins exploring the estate which she is prohibited from doing and discovers a garden that has been locked up and neglected. Mary also discovers another secret that her uncle hiding while exploring the estate.

I read this story as a child and was happy to find a copy on the store. It is a beautiful leather bound book in excellent condition.

I bought this book for my great grand daughters, because it is one of my best loved stories. The first I heard of this book was when I was in the 5th grade, I am now 81 years old. My teacher would read a chapter a day to us in the afternoon. Years later when it was on TV, I couldn't get enough of it. Thankfully, my 2 little great grand daughters, ages 6-9, both love to read and they really love the classics. It is my goal to help build a great classic library for them.

Love the story, however, this book is missing all of the beautiful illustration that the hardcover books features. The margins are too small and the print runs on. The story is the story, but it is not beautiful.

"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a very old (originally written in 1911) Classic novel. I enjoyed the sweet endearing story, but I had some difficulty reading it, because of the dialect (Yorkshire) of the characters. In trying to figure out what they were saying, I would lose focus on the story.

Beautiful book! Fabulous story about character, joys, sorrows, friendships, and staying true to who you are. It is the story of a very young girl, starting when she is 7 years old.
We bought the Kindle edition because my daughter left her hardcopy in school. I recommend reading this book in whichever format you like best.

Loved it! This story was absolutely riveting. All the elements of a great story between the two covers of this book. The ending could not have been better. The narrator was delightful to listen to. It was so heartwarming to see the characters in the story grow and mature, develop character of their own while they shape the hearts and spirits of those around them.

My granddaughter and I enjoyed our time together throughout the adventures of this book. She was initially a reluctant reader, so Audible w/Whisper Sync was the very best method for exposing her to a story which she never would've attempted on her own. I'm especially pleased with how the pages turned themselves as the narration progressed. WE LOVED THIS BOOK. And will find another before day's end.???

I love this book! Unfortunately, this is the abridged version. It does say so in the description, so I can't fault the seller, but I didn't even bother reading this version as I enjoy the full one. The abridged version would be good for early readers though.

uses faithful reproduction of some of actual movie cels (those as seen in the movie) with some good corrections to previous versions (one Little Golden Book version had redrawn everything, to the point of putting shoes on the shipwrecked Eric)

When I was young, I skipped from Golden Books and comic books to adult reading and missed many of the classics for children. Reading The Secret Garden now as an older adult opens the gate to remembering the Magic when I was young enough to know that everything and everyone was constantly new and fresh and rich with living.

Of course it's perfectly wonderful, everyone knows that! I just didn't learn it for myself until I was nearly 40. My own loss. It's easy to see why this is one of those books people read over and over. Such a sweet story. Good book to be enjoyed at any age.

My daughter is an advanced reader and I purchased this book for her to read along with the CD so that she could improve her vocabulary. I purchase these read-along books to play in the CD player of the car to keep her occupied. She was so enraptured with the storyline that she followed along in the book during the entire reading of the CD. She listened and read the entire book in one sitting. This storyline so wonderful that even my 17 year old son and I were listening intently to hear what would happen next! What a wonderful story with a wonderful life lesson.

Very disappointed. The description emphasized the quality illustrations, but the only one is the cover. I bought this because it is one of my favorite stories, and I wanted to share it with my five year old daughter.

I loved this book as a child and especially remember the beautiful illustrations by Tasha Tudor. I reread it after giving it to my ten-year-old bookworm goddaughter who adored it. The charm was still there for me, too, after fifty some years.

read and re-read since my childhood, this book is SO much better than the movies! A wonderful story of growing up in England in the 1800s. The development of relationships just adds to the tale. Great reading ! Wonderful for moms or dads to read to elementary kids at bedtime.

I have looked at title and discounted this story dozens of times as just a children's story. I am so glad I finally decided to have a look
What a joy. It is indeed a story of children but not just for children. It carries a message every child and every adult should learn.

This book is great for little readers. They can follow along and enjoy a big chapter book. I also appreciate that it is unabridged! I compared parts of a chapter in this book with another unabridged copy (different edition) that I have and the wording matched as well as the chapter titles. There is no table of contents which is different than most published books. I guess it saves on cost.

The cover of this book is absolutely stunning and is also the main reason why I purchased it. I love Rifle Paper Co. and everything Anna Bond designs. The story was actually really great, and I enjoyed reading it (as a 26 year-old female). I'm definitely looking forward to passing this book down to (hopefully) future daughters to enjoy.

The only reason why it's not 5 stars is because there were two pages where the ink roller got messed up and smeared the ink across the page to where the text was illegible. I requested a replacement, which the store promptly ordered, and it seems to not have any issues like that (I haven't checked page by page yet). I order all 4 books in this design series and 2 out of 4 of them had this issue. It seems that whoever was in charge of the actual inside quality check did a poor job. Some of the page numbers in a couple of the other books are almost being cut off the edge of the page (poor placement).

Other than that, the stories are classic and the outside covers are stunning. I definitely don't mind sitting these books on my shelf.

They don't write them like this anymore. Have felt wistful as I read this. To be young and open hearted without prejudice or malice.

I suppose some would say it's sappy but I've enjoyed revisiting my childhood delights.

The Secret Garden is a children's classic that eluded me for many years. I've seen dramatized versions of the story but had never read the book until it was offered at such a reasonable price for Kindle.

The illustrations don't look like much on my black-and-white Kindle, but they're in full color and might look better on the Kindle Fire. They look very good in my Kindle-for-PC app.

This is a very fine ebook edition, well-formatted with a clickable Table of Contents.

You can find free versions, but you're taking your chances on the formatting. This edition is well worth the price!

The Secret Garden was my favorite book when I was a child, and I still occasionally re-read it- I find it very relaxing. There is a free edition of this on the store without illustrations, and if I had to do it again I'd get that one instead of spending $2 on 4 or 5 illustrations that didn't look great on the kindle anyway. Also these are not the illustrations of Tasha Tudor which are (in my opinion) the most beautiful illustrated edition.

Now if you haven't read the book before it is a 5 star book- one of the best children's books ever written- even my son liked it and its more of a little girl's book.

Classic literature isn't usually my cup of tea, but this book really tugged at my heartstrings. Sara is such a beautiful young heroine; it's hard not to be inspired by her. After reading this book, it became one of my favorites, and the cover design is so stunning! This book is a great read for young and old readers alike, and one that you can proudly display on your bookshelf!!

Have lost count of the numerous times that I have read and re-read this endearing and lovely story (right from when I was a kid myself to current adulthood). Poignant, touching and beautifully written. Showing grace, kindness in the child's character and strength of the human spirit when faced with the harshest of adversity.

A true classic, yes, particularly with the Tasha Tudor illustrations--and please make sure to avoid any abridged editions. Ms. Burnett's tale of two unhappy, neglected children and one well-loved one is dreamy and beautiful. It includes a heroine with spunk and gorgeous descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside.

That said, this book includes very prejudiced views of Indians and India, and while they are a child's POV and (unfortunately) culturally historical, any adult giving or reading this book to a child should preface it with an explanation of how such views are very wrong.

This is an excellent production. My 6 year old listened to it so much that I think the whole family has it memorized. Then she took a break from it and I started missing Martha Sowerby and others. I also just ordered one for a friend's daughter. I completely recommend it.