Customer Reviews

Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book out of my personal interest as an adult doll/doll book collector, a collector of children's books, and an elementary teacher. I found this chapter book for middle grade (4th-8th grades)students to hold a solid story that kept me reading until the end. I would definitely recommend it to age appropriate readers who are interested in dolls, fantasy, mystery, or those who are recovering from a death in the family (but not too recently).

In this book, Ashley and her mother move to a house in the suburbs to begin a new life after the death of Ashley's father. The house they move to is a portion of a larger house owned by a cranky older lady (Miss Cooper) who constantly threatens to throw them out. Miss Cooper is particularly after Ashley, who wanders off to explore the garden around the house. During one of her explorations, Ashley and a younger neighbor discover a buried antique doll and Miss Cooper's buried source of regret. Ashley challenges Miss Cooper's crankiness in order to return the doll to its orginal owner and learns about making peace with people who have died.

I enjoyed this story for the fantasy element. Well written characters drew me into the story, and didn't make the fantasy seem too unrealistic. I also really liked the realistic discussion of feelings that occur when someone you love/are close to dies. This multilayered gem is worth the purchase price for interested readers.

Another well-crafted ghost story from Mary Downing Hahn, this book follows the adventures of Ashley, who moves into a rented appartment and starts exploring the overgrown garden. She comes across a doll, long buried, and sets out to discover why it is there, and what the mysterious cries that she hears at night are.

Not a scary ghost story, it is very moving and I found myself crying at a few spaces. It might be a little cliche for an adult reader, but it is a great read for a younger reader who is interested in ghost stories.

In my opinion, I think the book The Doll in the Garden is very interesting.
The main character, Ashley , finds a doll in the garden of her new house and
soon discovers that it belonged to a girl who is now dead. An old woman snatches
the doll and soon afterwards Ashley finds that she is meeting girl who owed the
doll. The most exciting part in the story is when Ashley suddenly travels back in
time when she goes to a certain place in the garden. It's a good book because there
also is a strange cat in the garden. Also it is a little scary and adventurous. In
conclusion, this was a thrilling book.

This was my all-time favorite childhood book, but there were so many typos throughout the text that I HAD to rate it low. The story is great but several times one of the supporting character's names was misspelled and there were other grammatical typos that are hard to overlook. It's important that our youth are reading quality work, and some of the typos would be distracting and make it difficult for a young reader to understand the story.

The book has great characterizations. There is good imagination. I think this book would be good for any ages. I don't think that it's exactly a ghost story, some parts are ghosty and others are fun! My favorite part is when Miss Cooper, the grouchy old woman, finally puts her meanness aside and starts to be nice to the two girls. I never really used to like books but then I fianlly got into this book and could not put it down. I even read it when I was walking to my day camp. This book is fantastic!!!! It is my favorite book so far. I love it! If I love it you'll love it!

this book is absolutly amazing! i started to cry toward the end and i normally don't cry over books. this book is an absolute must have.

Ten-year-old Ashley, the main character, followed a beautiful white cat, which reminded her of her own cat, into Mrs. Coopers enchanted garden. Ashley had been warned many times to stay out of that garden, but still she was curious. Ashley had many plan to make the pond look better with the help of her friend Kristi. While Ashley is pulling her weeds and clearing the empty pond she comes across a box. What was in it? A doll buried in the dirt. Ashley also comes upon many different mysteries. Who is the little girl with the long golden curls that awaits her companion, Carrie, to come? Whose voice cries out at night? And why doesn't the white cat have a shadow beneath the moonlight?
I enjoyed reading this book because I simply enjoy ghost stories, and this book is a great example of a ghost story. This book has many misteries and thrills every time. "Kristi crept closer, and when I finally got it open she screamed at the sight of its contents. It's a dead girl! She cried." It is these kinds of events that keep you at the end of your seat! I loved how the author put all the right thrills in the right places.
I relished reading this book because it was interesting reading about the many ways Ashley used to solve the mystery and how she was determined to find out! I loved how the author, Mary Downing Hahn, wrote in descriptive detail and added interesting dialogue to the story. I enjoyed reading about the many characters like Mrs. Cooper, the wicked landlord, Kristi, Ashley's friend, and all the other character in the story.
My favorite part in the book would have to be when Ashley had the courage to talk back to Mrs. Cooper. Ashley finally showed Mrs. Cooper that she could also be fierce. "How could you be so mean? I asked Louisa was an Orphan, and she was sick." Mrs. Cooper finally expressed herself and told Ashley why she had to do the mean things. From then on Mrs. Cooper seemed different! She had agreed to go with Ashley to see Louisa and give Anna Maria to Louisa. This is why I liked reading this book.

A Doll in the Garden is a great book! It's about a girl named Ashley and her mom who move into an apartment owned by an old, mean lady named Ms. Cooper. Ashley discovers the garden in Ms. Cooper's back yard. Ashley decides to explore the garden. When she comes out of the garden, a girl named Kristy is waiting there for her. Kristy and Ashley become good friends. When they explore the garden together, they discover an antique doll. On the top of the box that the doll was in, was the name Anna Maria. Ashley decides to take the doll to her room and keep it for herself. Mysterious and unusual things happen afterward.

This book may start out slow but it is so esensial and intreging. I read this at 11 in 3 days becuase of the suspense. If you like scary books, you'll like this.

This book completely caught me off guard by touching me very deeply. By the time I finished this I was crying in a way I haven't done since I was seven. The ghost story Hahn unfolds is very simple, completely age appropriate and makes room for her to explore in a simple way most children can understand about what it means to loose a loved one. It's a rare author that can write a book about survivors guilt and about giving one's self permission to grieve and still make it accessible to younger audiences. Furthermore Hahn makes her characters actually work out their problems through talking and sharing feelings rather than relying on cheap gimmicks to get through the emotional parts of the plot. Human relationships are never given a back seat to the supernatural elements of the story, and for that alone this book deserves all of its stars, however I have to admit the real reason I gave it a five star rating is because Hahn is intent on reminding us that most problems facing people in their relationships today, be it between parent and child or two friends, is simply because of a lack of understanding between points of view and a failure to reach compromise. The fact that there is a book for young girls out there today that teaches talking over fighting, listening over shouting and understanding, caring and the permission to forgive over revenge really can not be given too many praises.

Five stars highly recommended.