The Night Gardener

The Night Gardenerby Jonathan Auxier

Irish siblings Molly and Kip are orphans who travel to England to find work.  Cold and starving, they make their way to an English manor house in the dark, “sour” woods – a house that local inhabitants avoid like the plague.  Dominating the landscape around the house is an gnarled old tree which seems almost to be part of the house itself.

Molly and Kip become servants at the house for the Windsors and their two children.  Although Penny is a lovely girl who adores Molly, Alistair is a bully.  The mistress of the house is a hard taskmaster.  But beyond the hardships of servant life, Molly and Kip discover that there is something disturbing going on in and around the house.  Upon waking during the night, Molly is terrified to discover someone creeping through the house while the rest of the family is asleep and unaware.

Visits from “the night man” happen regularly, but the house has even more secrets to offer, including a kind of dark magic that keeps the Windsors, and perhaps even Molly and Kip, tied to the house.  As life grows more and more alarming, Molly and Kip must find a way to remove themselves, and their masters, to safety.

For those who like a good, creepy ghost story, The Night Gardener is perfect.  Grades 4-7.