When Minty is taken by her mother, Kate, to stay with her aunt in Belton, she has no reservations. Living with a mum who is so busy with work that her daughter is almost independent, Minty sees this trip as an adventure of sorts and hopes that something exciting will happen when she explores the grounds of Belton House: a stately home which he aunt lives across home. Perhaps she'll see ghosts! Yet when it comes to her mother leaving her to head back home, something happens which throws Minty's w...

Minty is a young girl who goes to spend the summer with her godmother who lives across from a stately home. She spends her days exploring and is drawn to a sundial in the grounds where she meets some...ghosts?I enjoyed the setup but I thought the middle part was a bit slow, then towards the end it all seemed to wrap up quite quickly. There were a lot of elements I liked but I wish there had been more time spent on them and maybe less on other things. I'm sure if I had read this when I was younge...

'Light and Shadow by turns, but always Love.'My first reading of this enchanting novel, in preparation for the 2017 Newark Book Festival and the panel discussion on Nottinghamshire's literary heroes.Helen Cresswell is certainly one such hero. This is a novel reminiscent of Philippa Pearce's 'Tom's Midnight Garden', engaging with time slips and ghostly figures from the past and the future.The authorial voice is fully aligned with the main protagonist, Minty Kane, affording the reader the clearest...

Minty is suffering the loss of her father. She goes to stay with an Aunt for the summer as her mother works, but then further tragedy strikes. Minty explores Belton Hall, an actual National trust property where her Aunt works and soon discovers she can travel in time where she meets a kitchen boy with a nasty cough and a wealthy girl from the hall with a birth mark on her face who was experiencing some quite extreme bullying. This book was made into a drama years ago and I expect this worked rea...

This was a highly nostalgic re-read for me - all the time travel fantasies of my childhood came flooding back. After reading this story of ghosts, time slip and bravery for the first time I was surprisingly keen to go visit country houses. It's not every 8 year old that wants to go to Chatsworth for her birthday but I was determined to have an adventure like Minty's. Now as an adult I really appreciated how atmospheric and spooky the book was, and how Minty dealt with complex and frightening sce...

This is February's children classic choice from Victoria from booktube channel Eves Alexandria.

I owned this book in the 1990's & even watched the TV show. The story of Minty, Tom & Sarah is one of my all time favorites & has never left me. I decided to re-read this on a whim, and I still think it's brilliant some 25 years later! It's one of those stories that is timeless and filled with intricacies. Everyone should read this book, children & adults alike, you will not be disappointed.

This story follows the saga of Araminta (or Minty for short), who has discovered she has a strange talent for seeing ghosts. After her mother is involved in a car accident, Minty is sent to stay in the country with an elderly Aunt who lives on the grounds of an old stately home now open to the public. Whilst staying with her Aunt, Minty befriends a local groundskeeper called World who informs her that she must help the past residents of the home find peace as they are lost souls. Minty meets the...

Most of the points I'm giving this book are from my childhood self - it was my favourite, and a book that really inspired my writing. It's so strange and atmospheric and mysterious.Unfortunately upon re-reading, it's a bit *too* mysterious. Very few of the questions it sets up are answered, and some intriguing points that seem like a big deal are never again mentioned or explained. It feels more like someone telling an intriguing bedtime story that they're making up as they go along than like so...

It is kind of a horror story about a girl going back in time. Every night, she went to the garden where there is a moon dial and she went back in time to meet a boy from many years ago and a girl. I really enjoyed this book.