Graphic by Jessica Pace
by JESSICA PACE
The epic family mystery
The Forgotten Garden
Kate Morton
Historical fiction
When four-year-old Nell is found sitting alone with her small white suitcase on an Australian wharf in 1913, she can’t remember where she came from or even her real name. The only clue inside the case is a book of fairy tales. After her death 90 years later, Nell leaves her granddaughter Cassandra the deed to a mysterious cliffside cottage on the coast of Cornwall in faraway England. As Cassandra picks up the cold trail to Nell’s true identity, she finds healing from her own tragic past in the pursuit of her grandmother’s story and in the restoration of a hidden garden found walled away behind the cottage. Absolutely brimming with magic, fairy tales, and the bonds of family, this epic family mystery will keep you guessing ‘til the end, and leave you wanting more when it’s over.
The classics
The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Classic children’s literature
Mary Lennox’s parents are neglectful and rich, living the high society life in British Colonial India, when they are both killed by an epidemic that sweeps through their city. Young Mary survives and is sent to live on her uncle’s estate in the north of England. Sour, sickly, selfish, and spoiled, Mary must now play outside alone all day in a foreign landscape. But when a friendly robin shows her the way into a locked and hidden garden, Mary discovers that the miracle of helping things grow—including her own heart—can open the doors to family, friendship, health and belonging.
Historical note: Frances Hodgson Burnett actually visited a hidden garden like the one in “The Forgotten Garden,” which inspired the story for “The Secret Garden.”
Sensitivity note: Antiquated offensive racial terms.
Not “Spring” related, but if you want more twisty Gothic Brit-lit like these two, try “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield (another story of redheaded twins in an old English greathouse), “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier (now a fantastic movie starring Lily James) and literally anything else by Kate Morton. This reader has loved “The Lake House,” “The Secret Keeper” and “The Clockmaker’s Daughter” as well.
Charlotte’s Web
E.B. White
Children’s fiction
Nothing says spring like baby animals being born on a farm. This tale of friendship, belonging, and the seasons of life is perfect for a nostalgic spring read. Pick it up for a read-aloud with someone little, or a quick trip down memory lane.
The love story
The Language of Flowers
Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Contemporary fiction
Victoria Jones has aged out of foster care and now she sleeps in the park, planting cuttings in a makeshift garden. After a local florist takes her under her wing, Victoria finds that using the Victorian flower symbology she feels so much connection with helps the shop’s customers convey their true feelings—even as Victoria struggles with her own. Unable to make meaningful connections with those around her, Victoria must find a way to make the language of flowers work for her, helping her face the pain in her past before she cuts herself and her heart off from the future.
The floral fairytale
Beauty
Robin McKinley
Fairytale retelling
In this gorgeous retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Robin McKinley weaves a spellbinding narrative of three sisters, Faith, Hope, and Honor (ironically nicknamed Beauty) whose family misfortune throws them into poverty, forcing them to move from their stately mansion into a small cottage on the edge of a dark wood. You know the rest of the story, of course, but this is the perfect read to usher in the new season with luscious roses, magical woods, and enchanted gardens.
The ode to nature
Why I Wake Early
Mary Oliver
Poetry
Nearly anything Mary Oliver writes is perfect for seasonal reading. Her attention to nature with its simplicity and complexity and depth can speak to us in any moment of our lives. A bud opening, a bird singing in a bush, a parking lot where a pond used to be. Grab a volume of her poems or prose poems (this one is my favorite so far) and take a walk in the woods, whether literal or figurative, on a spring morning.
The one “for kids”
And Then It’s Spring
Julie Fogliano
Illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Picture book
My all-time favorite picture book, the sparse words and charming illustrations (by fellow Michigander, Stead) give the exact feeling of springtime—the anticipation, the burgeoning, the mud! When I open this book I can almost smell the spring breeze. If you think you’re too old for picture books, pick this one up and give it a whirl. You won’t regret it.
