Tom's midnight garden- any others?

[peebles32]

How can I have missed this book? Pure genius and magical. I love children's literature so any recommendations appreciated. Another favourite was Wolf Wilder, Katherine Rundell.

Tom's midnight garden is one of the best books ever. I always wanted a grandfather clock when I was in junior school. The TV series of it was not bad but the film about 20 years ago was a big let down.

I went to see the stage show with my DDs and every adult was in tears at the end.

A Wrinkle in Time ….

Charlotte sometimes was my favourite book as a child. It has stayed with me all my life.

You could try " the ghost of gosswater " by Lucy strange

The afterwards by a f harrold
Letters to the lighthouse by Emma carroll if you wanted some modern authors!

I also recently reread the ghost of Thomas kempe which was another fav!

That was wonderful! Bought her books for my children, read them myself with great enjoyment. Howl's Moving Castle is another favourite. Classic animated film now. I think there was a BBC series based on Archer's Goon.

Minnow on the Say and a little later but The Indian in the Cupboard.

Just don't ever, ever be tempted to watch the 1999 film of Tom's Midnight Garden or the 2007 The Seeker (spit here) 'based' on the Dark is Rising. So bad.

Most of the books I love have already been mentioned, creepy children's books are my favourite genre!
One good one not been mentioned though, 'Wait Till Helen Comes' by Mary Downing Hahn

That's my favourite moment in a book of wonderful moments.

They made it in to a TV series in the 1970s OP it's worth looking out for.

Good modern authors/books (just in case you’ve missed them):
Ross Welford, Time Travelling with a Hamster. The 1000-Year-Old Boy
Frances Hardinge, The Lie Tree, Fly By Night
Emma Carroll, Letters from the Lighthouse
SF Said, Varjak Paw
Michelle Paver, Wolf Brother
Morris Gleitzman, Once (and series)
Louis Sachar, Holes

I'm going to echo the suggestion for Marnie Was There by Joan G Robinson. It was my favourite book as a child, so much so, that if I had a daughter I was going to call her Marnie! (I had two sons instead). It was out of print for years but had a bit of a comeback when Studio Ghibli made an animated film of it which is beautifully done even it is does change the story slightly.
Also Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr (which gave my son nightmares!)

I loved A Traveller in Time! I ordered a new copy because mine was read so many times it fell to bits.
I read it again recently, just as good as I remembered!

I love many of the books already suggested.

One author that I haven't seen recommended so far is Leon Garfield who wrote fantastic historical novels for children. Rosemary Sutcliff, Geoffrey Trease, Henry Treece, Barbara Leoni Picard (my favourite was The Young Pretenders) and Cynthia Harnett were also very good historical writers for children.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett has been mentioned. A Little Princess and The Lost Prince are 2 other wonderful books by her.

And no discussion of classic children's literature would be complete without mentioning E Nesbit who wrote great every day life stories such as The Railway Children and The Story of the Treasure Seekers as well as fantasies such as Five Children & It and The Phoenix & The Carpet.

Puddles in the Lane

Oh..I very recently reread Smith by Leon garfield..Great book

Also books by BB...in particular the little grey men. About the last gnomes I britain...just fabulous

I came back to recommend Leon Garfield. He wrote a book called The Apprentices which I read over and over. Also Robert Westall - brilliantly spooky.

@cariadlet

I love E Nesbit, I recently bought The Enchanted Castle as I hadn't read it as a child.

I still love The Wind in the Willows and as on other threads, I have promised myself a re-read in 2025

The Children of Winter (Berlie Doherty) time slip about the plague in Eyam
A parcel of patterns (Jill Paton Walsh)

Stars of Fortune by Cynthia Harnett (or anything else by her).

And yes to The Dark is Rising, Eagle of the Ninth, Green Knowe, Charlotte Sometimes.

Love so many of these. Charlotte Sometimes is my all-time favourite. And Marianne Dreams.

The Tricksters is another good Margaret Mahy.

Oh I remember that! Read it in English lessons, that was good!

Read TMG at school and studied it recently uni.
Lovely book.

I have really been enjoying this thread. Tom's Midnight Garden is possibly my favourite children's book. Apart from anything else, it is beautifully written and the ending never fails to bring a lump to the throat. I was going to suggest some of the books that others already have. Come back, Lucy is edgier and definitely more menacing, but a fantastic book. Helen Cresswell wrote a timeslip book called Up the Pier and When Marnie Was There is beautiful. I devoured Noel Streatfeild's books as a child and a particular favourite ŵas The Growing Summer (not timeslip). I was a child in the seventies and I realise now how fortunate my generation was with the high quality of children's literature that was written in the middle of the twentieth century.

The journalist Lucy Mangan wrote a brilliant book called Bookworm: a memoir of childhood reading.
She describes growing up and the books she loved at each stage, including Tom’s Midnight Garden. It prompted me to reread it and several others. Very comforting!