About reading

Title:The Secret Garden.

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Genre: Adventure.

Publisher: Longman.

Level: Elementary.

Brief summary of the plot:

The book is based on the story of a sickly little girl tucked in herself, Mary Lennox, who after losing her parents by an epidemic, travels from India to Misselthwaite Manor, a mansion in Yorkshire, where her reclusive uncle Carven lives. She was a selfish, arrogant and haughty child, and she  always got what he wanted. She never had the love of her parents. The walls of the mansion exude sadness and keep more than one mystery. One day, defying warnings of adults, Mary goes into a private garden in the manor house, that has been closed for ten years and which will become a magical refuge for herself and her three new friends: Colin, her disabled cousin, Dickon, her innocent and full of goodness brother and a robin. The three children and the robin restore the site which in turn will help them build a special relationship that will change their destinies forever.

Personal Opinion:

In my opinion, The Secret Garden gets a mark of  5 out of 10.
This book is a wonderful story in which you feel that you are the protagonist, and where you share Mary and her friends´ adventures. You can imagine the great gardens of the house, the secret garden, the birds and animals that accompany them in their daily life, the arrival of spring and the discovery of friendship.
The narrative is simple and exciting, full of very vivid and realistic descriptions. These are what really give life to the pages.

Title: THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST

Author: Captain Frederick Marryat

simplified … by Michael West

Edited: London : Longman, 1976

Genre: Adventure

Level: Pre-intermediate

The Setting:

The CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST is a historical novel originally written for young people, by Captain Frederick Marryat and published for the first time in 1847. This book is a brief and simplified version of the original work.

The story takes place during the English Civil War (1642–1651) when the disputes between the Parliament and King Charles II ended with the rise of the puritans that were led by Cronwel. Puritans were known as Round Heads due to the form of their hats.

King Charles was defeated and then executed by the rebels. Cronwel was made Lord Protector and Englan turned into a republican Commonwealth. Under his dictatorship, from then on, he initiated an implacable and cruel persecution of all his enemies: the suspects of loyalty to the King, the Catholics, the Scottish and the Irish people.

The New Forest, situated in the south of England, was and remains yet, a Royal Forest, it has been used by the kings to go hunting. Nowadays it is a National Park.

The Plot:

Colonel Beverley, who died in the battle of Naseby, was loyal to the King. When the Rounds Heads burned their mansion in the New Forest, his orphaned children escaped a certain death, thanks to a loyal servant, an elderly forest guard. Pretending they were his own grandsons, the forest guard was able to protect the children’s lives. In addition, the children, two boys and two girls, discover a new life in the forest and how to do things by themselves

The story continues with diverse vicissitudes and adventures throughout the history of England in those days, until the moment the Restoration by King Charkes III takes place 9 years later. The children, already adults, will recover then their family estate.

Conclusion:

In my opinion the novel is quite easy to read. I think the reading is pleasant and interesting since it hooks the reader until the end, at least to anyone who likes the historical novel. Although it is a brief version, the author’s message remains clear enough He tries to instill the children in the Victorian era, values such as honor, loyalty and the spirit of self-sacrifice.

In short, it is an enjoyable novel, I recommend it.

Review by José María Yáñez

(2nd year basic level)

‘TWO LIVES’

“Two lives” is a romantic story written by Helen Naylor and was first published in 2001 by Cambridge University Press.

Set in a little coal miner village called Tredonald in Wales in 1946, the novel tells the story of two sixteen year old lovers, Megan and Huw, from different social backgrounds.

Megan Jenkins is a good girl who lives with her parents. She studies and works in the family´s shop in the town.

Huw Thomas lives with his father, David, and his brother, Gareth. He studies and works in the mine too, which is the principal source of jobs to people of the town. Their life is hard because they have to survive with little money.

This book shows how love and time can overcome the difficulties of life. The story is really wonderful, romantic and realistic. The reader should think that the story maybe a pain but nothing about this because he´ll find a fresh, sweet, interesting romance.

I think this book could be read by all kind of readers that want to keep a good story in their hearts.

INTRODUCTION

The book title is “Circle Games” and the story that I chose “Quick Man Tan”. It was written by Frank Brennan.

The book genre is comedy short stories.

I chose this book because the cover looked cool and the summary said that it had five short stories to make you smile and I enjoy comedy books.

SUMMARY

The book tells the story of Caleb Tan (an old Chinese Lion Dancer) who has a Café with his wife May May (the waitress) and his son Henry (the cooker). Caleb, when hi was young, was a famous dancer called Quick Man Tan. Nowdays he entertains his customers with his old stories about fighters and The Chinese New Year until one day, he saves the life of a customer when a thief attacked him and Caleb became famous again.

OPINION

In my opinion it´s beautifully written. The story is short but is a highly entertaining read.

I like the plot because I enjoy the Chinese culture.

It has a surprising but happy end, I didn´t expect that the old man was the hero and I like that Henry finds his wife at the end. The end makes me feel good because Caleb get his dream: to become famous again and people want him to teach The Lion Dance to children and get paid for it.

My favourite character is Caleb, the protagonist; he´s a dreamer and he likes to remember his childhood but many customers didn´t listen to his stories.

CONCLUSION

I learned a lesson: we should listen more to old people.

I would recommend this book to people who are studying English because there are five short stories easy to read and it has two CD´s to practice “listening”

I chose the first story because it was the funniest for me.

Title: The Secret Garden

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Synopsis

When Mary’s parents died she goes to live with her uncle (Mr.Crave, who is a strange person) in England.
She is often ill like her cousin Colin, so Mrs. Medlock and Martha (servants) take care of them.

Walking around the gardens Mary meets Ben Weatherstaff (the gardener) and his only friend “The Robin” on the wall of a garden without door.

Marta talks to Mary about her brother Dickon (a friendly boy) who tells his mother Mrs. Sowerby (a really nice woman) about children’s troubles and she helps them to be happy.

Personal Opinion

I would like to recommend this book to everybody. I think “The Secret Garden” is a wonderful story which reminds us of our childhood , always full of values such as willpower and friendship. 

We must thank María Jesús Menéndez, Ana Toraño and Alejandra García for their help. They have written some pages of the boy’s diary.

I think “The Secret Garden” is a good story: a girl who nobody loves, without parents, goes to live with her uncle, an unhappy man with a very big house and a very sad story in his life.

There she meets Collin, her unhealthy cousin, and Dickon , who will become her best friend.
Dickon teaches Mary that life is the most wonderful thing that you can have: if you want to be happy, you must love everything around you. The world is wonderful, life is wonderful… when Mary and Collin understand that, their lives change forever.

Click on the book to access a website where you will see the trailer of the film based on the book, find online exercises and some ideas about what you can do after reading the book.

This is what Sonia has done. If you want to know more about Amelia read Amelia Earhart by Caroline Laidlaw. You can also visit her official website.