Philippa Pearce’s Tom’s Midnight Garden is a magical, mysterious read for 9 year olds about a boy who finds a garden that isn’t there in daylight.<\/p>\n
Tom is furious. His brother Peter has measles, so Tom is packed off to stay with Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan in a flat with no garden at all. He’s in quarantine, so he can’t go out or see anyone. And all of Aunt Gwen’s rich cooking means he can’t sleep.<\/p>\n
So he lies awake listening to the old grandfather clock in the hall downstairs. It never strikes the right hour. Then one night it strikes thirteen.<\/p>\n
What would you do? Tom creeps down and opens the back door. Where there should be a poky yard full of dustbins, there’s a great lawn, flower beds, yew trees and a greenhouse, all bright in the moonlight.<\/p>\n
In the morning it’s gone.<\/p>\n
It’s a quiet, shivery kind of magic. Nothing roars or explodes. Instead you get a maid who walks straight past Tom as if he isn’t there, and a hall full of stuffed animals that fades away while he watches.<\/p>\n
Tom is very easy to like. He’s sulky about being sent away (he’d much rather have had measles!). He’s a bit rude to his kind aunt, and he’s desperate for something to do. His letters to Peter, marked B.A.R. for Burn After Reading, are a lovely touch.<\/p>\n
This one suits a reader who likes to take their time. The writing is rich and old-fashioned in places, and the mystery unfolds slowly. If you’ve got a reader who loves a secret and a puzzle, they’ll be hooked by that thirteenth stroke.<\/p>\n
If they enjoy Philippa Pearce’s gentle magic, try The Little Gentleman next. Bet, a quiet girl who comes along while her gran does the cleaning, is asked to sit on a log by the river and read aloud. But who exactly is she reading to?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Philippa Pearce’s Tom’s Midnight Garden is a magical, mysterious read for 9 year olds about a boy who finds a garden that isn’t there in daylight. Tom is furious. His brother Peter has measles, so Tom is packed off to stay with Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan in a flat with no garden at all. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13581,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":9195,"lr_next_read_anchor":"The Little Gentleman","lr_seo_hook":"A clock that strikes thirteen and a moonlit garden that vanishes by day.","lr_series_id":0,"lr_series_name":"","lr_series_position":0,"lr_series_label":""},"book_tag":[27],"age_group":[24],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[800],"class_list":["post-13582","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-fantasy-books","age_group-books-for-9-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-philippa-pearce"],"yoast_title":"Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"A clock that strikes thirteen and a moonlit garden that vanishes by day. For ages 9+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n