Springtime in The Secret Garden and a Giveaway

It makes the team at Audrey Press incredibly proud when we look back on all of the accomplishments of this boutique small press publishing house.

One of these accomplishments happened in 2014 when CEO Valarie Budayr had the great pleasure of teaming up with Marilyn Scott-Waters from The Toymaker to create the award-winning chapter book A Year in The Secret Garden. Eight years later, this book is still touching hearts and bringing Frances Hodgeson Burnett’s classic children’s book, The Secret Garden, to life for a new generation of readers.

The glow of pride has yet to dim.

What Readers Can Expect with A Year in the Secret Garden

Inside are original crafts with step-by-step instructions, easy-to-make recipes, gardening activities, beautiful and fully illustrated paper toys to download, and historical information. We’ve even added a Yorkshire dialect guide. It’s our wish that you have many magical moments inside the Secret Garden.

“This is my favorite book in the whole world and has been since I first heard it read back in grammar school. When I saw this new book out, I just had to get it; and I wasn’t disappointed. All the magic of the original story came back to me. I love the craft ideas presented, and the short write-ups about the characters. I highly recommend this to anyone who is A SECRET GARDEN book fan, and what a wonderful gift to present to a child for the holidays! The magic of this timeless story will never end!” Gail D.

As parents, we want/need quality books with extension activities to help our young ones unplug and create memories. Pulling books from shelves, and stories from pages is also an important act that will the habit of being life-long readers. Quality books with companion book extension activities are not only working to create special family time, but it also allows kids to solve the world’s problems without major consequences. A Year in the Secret Garden is just such a book.

Within the 120 pages (with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities)families will find many activities inspired by The Secret Garden that encourage them to step away from technology and enjoy getting hands and feet into the black earth of a family garden. This book will make a great gift and be the catalyst of many hours of family growth, learning, and FUN!

Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” More details HERE!

Time for Some Extra Fun

Imagine our delight when The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel by Nariah Marsden came across our radar last year! Graphic novels are an excellent way to make the act of reading more enjoyable for the reluctant readers of the world.

Green-growing secrets and powerful magic await you at Misselthwaite Manor, now reimagined in this bewitching graphic novel adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved tale. From Mariah Marsden, author of the critically acclaimed Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel, comes the second installment in this series of retold children’s classics.

Ten-year-old Mary Lennox arrives at a secluded estate on the Yorkshire moors with a scowl and a chip on her shoulder. First, there’s Martha Sowerby: the too-cheery maid with bothersome questions who seems out of place in the dreary manor. Then there’s the elusive Uncle Craven, Mary’s only remaining family—whom she’s not permitted to see. And finally, there are the mysteries that seem to haunt the run-down place: rumors of a lost garden with a tragic past, and a midnight wail that echoes across the moors at night.

As Mary begins to explore this new world alongside her ragtag companions—a cocky robin redbreast, a sour-faced gardener, and a boy who can talk to animals—she learns that even the loneliest of hearts can grow roots in rocky soil.

Given new life as a graphic novel in illustrator Hanna Luechtefeld’s whimsical style, The Secret Garden is more enchanting and relevant than ever before. At the back of the book, readers can learn about the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett and the history of British colonialism that contextualizes the original novel.

We loved this version of this classic children’s book and we know you will too. So we are going to giveaway ONE paperback copy to ONE lucky reader! USA WINNERS ONLY, PLEASE.