Patricia M. St. John (1919–1993)

11-year-old Elaine is sent from London to the countryside while her mother takes a job in Europe. At first, Elaine resents her situation, especially being foisted off on a boisterous family with six other children who don't seem to want her there, but then she finds an abandoned garden that she decides to make into her own special place.

If this sounds a bit like a cut-rate Secret Garden, you're not entirely wrong, though the garden is only really important in the first half of the story. The show more main plot centers on Elaine's discovery of Christianity and the development of her newfound faith. It's all terribly earnest, as is typical of mid-century religious writing for children, though there's some adventure by way of a mountain holiday and a desperate robber toward the end of the book. I can see this book finding a place in a church library. My edition says it's been revised with more modern language, but I'm not familiar with the original, so I can't tell you what's been changed. show less

A really good book and lovely story if you get passed the subtle aftertastes of colonialism and white-savior-ism.

Years ago, Mom read this book aloud to our family. More recently, we came across the movie from the ‘80s that is based on this book, and we had an enjoyable family movie night. After watching the movie, though, I was curious to see how it lined up with the book—and since it had been so long since I’d heard the book, I couldn’t remember what it was like. So I picked this book up recently and had a lot of fun reading it over the past few days.

This is a simple story, but the kind of show more story that delivers a powerful punch while still being age-appropriate for younger readers. I could strongly relate to Ruth—I saw my younger self in many of the things she did. She wasn’t always a naughty child, but she did manage to drag her brother into a lot of scrapes with her many ideas, and that was fun to read about. I also enjoyed the faith element of the story; it was very gentle, but an encouragement to me, even now as an adult.

This is a sweet, easy, fast read, one that I’d want to share with my siblings if they didn’t already know the story. If you enjoy faith-filled children’s fiction that has some depth to it, I’d highly recommend you check this book out! It’s a treasure to have on the shelf. show less

A compelling story inspired by what we read of Onesimus in Paul's New Testament letters.

Set in the vibrant first-century Roman Empire, this richly detailed narrative follows the life of Onesimus, a young slave who dreams of gaining freedom and winning the love of Eirene, a rich merchant's daughter.

His master, Philemon, followed Jesus Christ and his apostle Paul. A turning point in Onesimus's life comes when, through Paul's teachings, Onesimus learns about love, forgiveness, and a different show more kind of freedom that changes his life forever. show less