Patricia St. John Revised Set of 5 Volumes including Rainbow Garden, The Secret at Pheasant Cottage, Star of Light, The Tanglewoods' Secret, and Treasures in the Snow

by Patricia St. John, Gary Rees (Illustrator), Mary Mills (Editor)

Since their publication over fifty years ago, these classic stories have been loved by readers who appreciate these touching tales about faith, kindness, courage, and love. Beautifully written, each story captures the innocence of childhood, the joys of little things, and the depth of our Savior’s love.

- Star of Light - Hamid rubbed the light from his eyes and looked again. He was not dreaming. It was his stepfather! The man watched Kinza as a snake might watch a baby rabbit at play, waiting for the moment to strike. And for one breathless moment Hamid was sure that he would reach out and snatch her away.

- The Secret of the Pheasant Cottage - Raised by her grandparents, Lucy starts a search for her father that takes her from a prison in England to Spain. Along the way she learns about love, forgiveness and God's grace.

- Treasures of the Snow - Annette is so filled with rage she sets out to alienate and humiliate her enemy Lucien at every turn. As Lucien seeks to repent and restore, light floods both of their dark hearts and Christ proves that he makes all things new.

- The Tanglewoods' Secret - Just when she thinks she can't take living with her aunt anymore, she learns a very special secret about a very special Shepherd. When a dreadful accident hurts one they love, Ruth and Philip learn that the Tanglewoods' Secret isn't meant to be kept a secret.

- Rainbow Garden - When Elaine leaves her home in London to stay with the Owen family in Wales, she feels miserable and left out. It's the secret garden that she finds at the end of the rainbow that makes staying there seem worthwhile. And everything changes.

Paperback

Published January 1, 2002

About the author

Patricia Mary St. John spent 27 years as a dedicated missionary to North Africa - and was also a prolific children's writer. Her books are loved and treasured around the world; some have been turned into stirring films. Gripping adventures which cover real life issues are her hallmark.

Reviews

[Emily Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully sweet book about redemption. This book has strong Christian themes including forgiveness, salvation, humility, friendship, caring for the poor and widowed, and probably more. I would re-read this book and probably will to my other kids. My five and seven year old always asked to listen to it in the car which does not always happen and for those reasons I give it four and a half to five stars!

Content warnings: loss of a parent, peril, and pretty descriptive injury

[Ashley Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved the classical selection of books this year our co op has chosen. This book is beautifully written with lots of emotions on bitterness, hurt, forgiveness, and kindness all while keeping Christ centered. It was so fun to see how everyone (my kids) felt about the characters.

[Michelle Blackmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son had to read this for his summer reading (rising 4th grade) and it’s really sad but overall a good story of the impact forgiveness of others can have on oneself. I liked it overall.

[Lori Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely story of childhood in the Alps, joy, and forgiveness.

[Heidi Seegmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was awesome and taught how to let Jesus fill your heart

[Hannah Dietrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reading this book to see if it would be a good one to read to my kids. I think it would!

I love the way Patricia St. John writes the gospel into the story. This text makes the importance of not just Christian values but the gift of Christ.

I do think my kids would be a bit terrified by the moment of a child in peril and may be offput by the discussion of the loss of the child’s mother at the beginning of the book, but I think the rest of it provides a positive response despite those emotionally heavy moments.