Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
With her father dead, Emily Byrd Starr has been taken in by her mother’s people, Aunts Elizabeth and Laura, and Cousin Jimmy, whom she’s never met before. Aunt Elizabeth, however, seems very harsh. But as the days go by, Emily learns to love her home at New Moon and to make friends from the artistic Teddy Kent to the wild Ilse Burnley. And all the while she’s perfecting her craft of poetry as she prepares to be a writer.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
At five years of age, Heidi finds herself dragged up into the Swiss mountains by her aunt to live with her forbidding grandfather. Contrary to all expectations, however, Heidi loves her new home and her new family. She goes daily to frolic with the goats on the mountainside and revels in the beauty of nature all around her. Then one day her aunt returns, determined to place Heidi in the house of a wealthy family who want a companion for their ailing daughter. Will Heidi ever find her way home?
A Girl of the LImberlost by Gene STratton-Porter
Elnora Comstock dreams of going to college, but her mother thwarts her attempts to receive and education and to practice playing the violin. To put herself through school, Elnora begins to catch moths in Limberlost Swamp. A companion novel to Freckles.
Movie Shoes (THe Painted Garden) by Noel Streatfeild
When the Winter children are invited to visit their aunt in California, Tim, a pianist, and Rachel, a ballerina, begin to dream big. But it their plan sister Jane who lands the lead role in a movie production of The Secret Garden. Part of the Shoes books, but originally titled The Painted Garden.
Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb
When Emmie Hatton is evacuated from a London orphanage, she finds herself at Misselthwaite Manor. There she hears the mysterious cries of a boy in the night and discovers the diary of a girl named Mary. Armed with Mary’s memories, Emmie is determined to find the secret garden herself.
Pages Unbound | Book Reviews & Discussions 
Which of these where your favorites? I think I have only read Emily of New Moon (great recommendation by the way!).
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I haven’t read Movie Shoes or Return to the Secret Garden, so I’d have to go with Emily of New Moon. 😉 Followed by A Girl of the Limberlost. But I like Noel Streatfeild’s other Shoe books and Return to the Secret Garden had pretty good reviews when I looked it up.
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I was not even aware of Return to the Secret Garden. How behind am I haha?
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I just learned about it maybe a month ago. 😊
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I love Emily of New Moon, and Heidi is also a great rec. Is Return to the Secret Garden worth reading? My experience with sequels to classics has been rather mixed.
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I haven’t read Return to the Secret Garden as I am always leery of sequels not written by the original author. However, I saw a lot of glowing reviews, so I might actually give it a try one day. I would need to ILL it, though, as I don’t think my library has a copyy.
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I’m leery for the same reason, but I’ll keep an open mind if I see it around one day.
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I’m pretty sure I read Emily of New Moon, and I’ve always loved Heidi! I love these types of posts.
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Emily of New Moon is so great! I love how it’s a little darker than Anne of Green Gables.
And Heidi is good, too, though I’m afraid I haven’t reread it in a few years. My memory is a little hazy!
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I want to read Girl of the Limberlost! I just heard about this book from a friend. I’m really have to find a copy.
I recently finished Return to the Secret Garden. Sigh. I almost DNF it. However, I’m SUPER PICKY about stories like this. I always have such high hopes. In my opinion, this book doesn’t equal the original. 😦
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It might be in Project Gutenberg? I’m not sure.
How disappointing! I saw good reviews so I thought reading it might be worth a chance. 😕
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I think my library may have an audio version. If not, Project Gutenberg sounds like a good place to check.
Re: Return to the Secret Garden. You may like the book. My sister and I like similar books, and she’s kinder to books like this. I’m super critical.
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I tend not to like sequels not written by the original author, but maybe I’ll try it some day. It can’t hurt to try!
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Wonderful list! I absolutely love the secret garden and Heidi. I also had no idea that the shoes series was a series- I absolutely loved Ballet Shoes when I was younger- and now I want to read them all!!
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The Shoes books are somewhat misleading in that they are not related (except for, I think, Theatre Shoes, which has a cameo by the Fossils). The publishers just renamed Streatfeild’s other works to capitalize on the success of Ballet Shoes. Sneaky sneaky!
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Ah I’m perfectly okay with that to be fair- cos I’m very happy to read Streatfeild’s other work 😉
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The strange this is, I know the Shoes books aren’t really connected, but every time I see one, I think, “Ooh! A Shoes book! Must read!” 😀
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hehehe I think I’m going to have the exact same reaction now that I know it’s a thing!
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