"Where you tend a rose, my lad,
A thistle cannot grow."
by Francis Hodgson Burnett
illustrated by
Graham Rust, in memory of his mother
In 10 words or less: My favorite fiction book ever written? Read in winter.
What I liked: Timeless, classic story of the power of love and friendship. It is about hope and the renewal of spirit and life.
What I disliked: Nothing!
Themes: Parenthood, friendship, God, life & death, renewal, hope, progress, the power of thoughts
Reading Level: According to the "Accelerated Reader Program", it is a 6th grade reading level.
Favorite Character: Susan Sowerby.
With 12 children, who include Dickon and Martha, Mrs. Sowerby is the voice to whom everyone listens. My favorite line of hers: (Martha visits home on her day out and her mom, after hearing more about Mary, decides to buy her the "sensiblist toy a child can have."
" . . . I've got four places to put every penny, but I'm just going to take tuppence out of it to buy that child a skippin' rope," Susan Sowerby explained to Martha as she used Martha's wages to purchase a skipping rope for Mary (p. 56).
I have at least four places for each penny that passes my hands, too.
I'd like to be like Susan Sowerby--she's got the answers to solve all the problems in the story, and everyone in the fictional community loves her. Is it possible to earn her status without the 12 children?
My experiences with this story:
-Attended the live musical at Maine South High School--excellent production
-Thanksgiving 2007, road trip to Wyoming from Chicago. Listened to the book on tape from the library. The woman who "read" the book had such a great, soothing voice.
--January 2010 Re-read this book while nursing Edwin.
-One of my grandmothers was from England, where the story takes place, and the other grandmother had a green thumb, so reading this book reminds me of both of them, too.
My Gardens:
One of my earliest memories is of planting a garden in the spring. In Wyoming that means May or June. My Grandma Parks had a green house and would bring us plants she had started from seeds. Both she and Grandpa came every Memorial day to help us plant. I remember kneeling with my grandma in the dirt in my front yard, digging holes for planting flowers. Later, I tended flower beds at my high school where I worked on the lawn crew. Nathan and I had a plot in a community garden in Skokie for two years, and we have planted tomatoes in pots other summers. We look forward to having a "bit of earth" ourselves.
Dickon's secret to success in making plants grow:
'All a chap's got to do to make 'em thrive, Mother,' he would say, 'is to be friends with 'em for sure. They're just like th' "creatures." If they're thirsty give 'em a drink, and if they're hungry, give 'em a bit o' food. They want to live same as we do' (p. 186).
FYI:
Bryn read this book for her school's reading program in three days. It was worth 14 points (which is a lot--most of her other books are worth 5-6), and she wanted to speak in Yorkshire to me when she was done. I've offered Andrew a job to it to Caitlin.
This is the first time I've read it with illustrations. I like them. When I went to search for a cover photo, I found out that he is not the only illustrator of this book, there are at least 445 editions of it.
A parting thought about gardening: p.176
"Oh! the things which happened in that garden! If you have never had a garden, you cannot understand, and if you have had a garden, you will know that it would take a whole book to describe all that came to pass there."
