The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Mary Lennox is a spoilt, lonely girl sent from India to live in her uncle's gloomy old house on the Yorkshire moors. Nobody seems to want her, and there is nothing to do. Then she hears about a garden that has been locked up for ten years, and a friendly robin seems to be showing her the way in.
- Length
- About 80,000 words
- To read it
- About 54 days
- Stage
- Key Stage 2
Reading time at 1,500 words a day, the pace we start from until we know your child’s own.
Where it is taught
Why The Secret Garden is on the list
- Year 5, Challenge. Demanding books for a strong reader who wants a real challenge.
Reading it here
What your child does with it
- 1
Choose it and set a finish date
You get a suggested target from the length of the book and your child's reading pace.
- 2
Check in along the way
A longer book has short check-ins every week or two, so it keeps moving and nothing is forgotten.
- 3
Answer two questions
When they finish: a review of the book, and a deeper question about how it works.
- 4
Get it marked, and redraft
Every answer is marked against the rubric for their year, with a reason for every score.