The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story: Amazon.ca: Mary Downing Hahn: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Hahn's captivating fantasy tells of two friends who unearth a mysterious doll in a tangled, neglected rose garden. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-- A young girl helps her cantankerous elderly landlord to resolve a childhood act that caused the woman lifelong guilt. Ashley follows a white cat back in time and meets Louisa, a girl who is dying and who longs for her beloved doll--a doll that Ashley and her friend Kristi have found buried in Miss Cooper's garden. In the end Ashley, Kristi, and Miss Cooper visit Louisa; the woman is able to make am mends with her childhood friend, and Ashley begins to accept her father's death. Hahn's portrayal of crotchety Miss Cooper is expertly drawn, giving vivid insight into why she acts and lives as she does. Ashley, her widowed mother, and Kristi are also fully realized characters. When Hahn sticks to her story, it moves along at a steady, scary clip. However, when she lapses into lengthy descriptions of flowers, birds, and landscape, she slows the pace of the story rather than creates the intended atmosphere. Ashley's first-person narrative often gets bogged down in a flowery adult voice, particularly in the descriptions: "As still as the cherub behind me, I watched the leaves sway in the breeze. Sunlight and shadow mottled the ground, and the weeds whispered to themselves, lulling me like distant voices of children at play." Still, it's an imaginative ghost story, fairly predictable, but with a completely satisfying ending. --Trev Jones, "School Library Journal"
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

29 Reviews

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4 star:		(6)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Doll in The Garden, Feb 13 2003

By

daniel yang (Cerritos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doll In The Garden Pb (Paperback)

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.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A spooky, moving story, July 4 2004

By

Megan "Megan" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doll In The Garden Pb (Paperback)

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.

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5.0 out of 5 stars ***_gOoD BoOk To ReAd***_, Mar 22 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story (Hardcover)

In the book "A Doll In The Garden" It's about a girl by the name of Ashley cummings who moves to Monkton Hills with her mother and they discover something interesting in their backyard garden.They moved into a house with an old lady who was renting out the top floor of her house(so they lived there) the old lady's name is miss cooper, she is very rude and mean to people especially little girls, who she hates, and cats because the only animal that she likes is her own dog. This book was very exciting and kept me guessing the whole time i was reading it. This author has a good way of explaining things and also has a good sentance fluency, so you just zoom through the book as your reading it.

This book is about Two girls about 11 or summin like that who explore throughout this rosebushes garden in which they aren't suppose to go in and the girls find a buried doll which mysteriously leads them into a ghostly world where everything is different. read this book NOW because it is absolutly excellent.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book?
This book is one of my favorite book i give it 5 stars because it shows that some people may be hiding because for some reason like Carrie for example. Read more

Published on Oct 4 2005 by elliza

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as I remembered it to be
Mary Downing Hahn was my favorite author when I was in middle school. I am now a 24-year-old graduate student who recently read a few of them again. Read more

Published on Mar 9 2004