The Night Gardener
Author: Jonathan Auxier
Published May 5, 2015
Page Count: 384
A haunting tale about two young siblings, Molly and Kip, from Ireland that find themselves working for a wealthy family that has a mysterious secret. They are tasked with taking care of the family’s huge old house (which is oddly built around a tree), and the animals on the grounds. Before long, Molly and Kip discover that this family, even though they have everything they could dream of, are unhappy and seem as if their very life is evaporating before the sibling’s eyes. Molly and Kip soon discovers that there is more going on than they realize as they come face to face with an mysterious (and haunting) night gardener. Part victorian ghost story, part moral fable The Night Gardener is a family friendly, spooky tale that teaches about the power of greed and storytelling.
Reading Audience:
Amazon suggests nine to thirteen years. A nine year old might stumble over some of the words, but this tale would be a great one to read out loud together around Halloween. There is a spector/ghost aspect that might scare younger children.
Stuff to be aware of:
This is a “scary story", but there isn’t anything bad in it. No curse words. There are some characters that are killed and some loan sharks (maybe mobsters is a better word) show up to hassle the family for money owed. The gardener might be a little scary to some young readers/listeners.
Overall:
I loved this story! I think this book will become a “classic.” The characters are all very memorable, and one of my all time favorite liteary characters comes from this book, Hester Kettle. This is a great “gateway scary story” if you want to introduce your kids to the kind of story you tell around a campfire.
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