The Night Gardener
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: February 10, 2017 6:09 PM | Last Updated: February 13, 2017
Jonathan Auxier
The spooky, Gothic-tinged story of a house and family under a horrible curse, The Night Gardener is set in the late 19th century. Irish orphans Molly and Kip become servants at a rundown English mansion that turns out to be less a haven than a haunted house of horrors. Suspenseful and chilling, this novel is destined to become a classic.
This book won author Jonathan Auxier the 2015 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, the biggest prize in Canadian children's literature. He also won the 2015 Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy.
From the book
Hester shook her head. "Don't confuse what you do with who you are, dearie. Besides, there's no shame in humble work. Why, Aesop himself, the king of storytellers, was a slave his whole life. Never drew a free breath, yet he shaped the world with just three small words: there once was. And where are his great masters now, hmm? Rotting in tombs, if they're lucky. But Aesop — he still lives to this day, dancin' on the tip of every tongue what's ever told a tale." She winked at Molly. "Think on that, next time you're scrubbing floors."
From The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier ©2014. Published by Puffin.