As a disclaimer to the book recommendation in my last two posts:
Yes, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett has long been one of my favorite children's books.
And, yes, it is full of talk about "Magic."
So, why do I still enjoy and recommend this book?
As I have already covered some of the reasons to enjoy it, this post will try to deal with the parts I wish were left out or altered.
An observant reader of The Secret Garden can easily see that the term "Magic" is used by two imaginative children who grew up without parents to guide and teach them. They had never been to church and didn't know anything about God. But what they see and feel as they get outdoors and observe His creation for the first time in their lives is too mysterious to be explained in any ordinary terms. So, they settle on calling it "Magic."
Thankfully a couple other characters, who know the Creator behind the mystery, shed more light on the question - showing that what these children mistakenly call "Magic" is actually the life-giving and sustaining power of God at work in His creation.
"It's the same Magic as made these 'ere work out o' th' earth," and he touched with his thick boot a clump of crocuses in the grass.
Colin looked down at them.
"Aye," he said slowly, "there couldna' be bigger Magic than that there - there couldna' be."
Remembering back to the first time I read this book when young, it simply did not leave me with any interest in "magic." Was that just because I already held firm convictions on the subject? Or did I pick up on the many lines pointing to the true One behind all the wonder, growth, and healing in this book? Or did I, in my childish innocence, just enjoy the story and not care about the spiritual side of it?
I don't know.
But I do know that if you are concerned about the impression it could make on your young readers, you could enjoy it together in a family setting where any concerns can be discussed as they come up. I know of a grandmother who changes out some words while reading it aloud, since "prayer," "God" and other terms fit even better to the ideas being presented.
You could also start by listening to Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's wonderful audio drama of this book - where the themes of God's power at work in His creation are drawn out and the talk about "magic" very minimized.
This "disclaimer" has likely left more questions than answers for some of my readers. I had many more thoughts jotted down on the whole topic of "magic" and raising children with a healthy dislike of any fantasy tending toward darkness. (After all, who needs to imagine mysterious powers into their playtime when they had stuffed animals that were fantastic inventors? ;-) We simply didn't consider it.)
But this is already too long, so I need to stop with one final warning about this author:
Out of the 4 children's books I have read by Frances Hodgson Burnett, half of them need no disclaimers but are delightful: Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess! But an otherwise exciting children's book named "The Lost Prince" is full of new age and Buddhist beliefs. The abridged paperback which I enjoyed in my youth had most of that removed, so I was surprised when I later found so much unbiblical worldview in the full-length book. And yet, discerning readers can find much to enjoy and inspire even there.
As I have said before (even about apparently Christian authors), please always read with discernment - in light of the Truth as shown in the Bible.
To end, let me share an excerpt from The Secret Garden.
"I'm well! I'm well! I feel--I feel as if I want to shout out something--something thankful, joyful!"
"Tha' might sing th' Doxology..."
"What is that?" he inquired.
Dickon answered with his animal charmer's smile.
"They sing it i' church," he said. "Mother says she believes th' skylarks sings it when they gets up i' th' morning'."
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen."
..."It is a very nice song," he said. "I like it. Perhaps it means just what I mean when I want to shout out that I am thankful to the Magic." He stopped and thought in a puzzled way. "Perhaps they are both the same thing. How can we know the exact names of everything. Sing it again, Dickon. Let us try, Mary. I want to sing it, too. It's my song. How does it begin? 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow'?"
And they sang it again, and Mary and Colin lifted their voices as musically as they could and Dickon's swelled quite loud and beautiful - and at the second line Ben Weatherstaff raspingly cleared his throat and at the third line he joined in with such vigor that it seemed almost savage and when the "Amen" came to an end. Mary observed that the very same thing had happened to him which had happened when he found out that Colin was not a cripple - his chin was twitching and he was staring and winking and his leathery old cheeks were wet.
"I never seed no sense in th' Doxology afore," he said hoarsely, "but I may change my mind i' time."
