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Tom's Midnight Garden Graphic Novel: A Classic Time-Travel Adventure About Friendship for Children
This exquisite graphic novel adaptation of Philippa Pearce's Carnegie Medal-winning Tom's Midnight Garden reimagines a beloved classic in a new, full-color format. With stunning art from award-winning graphic artist Edith, readers will be swept up in this transcendent story of friendship.
When Tom's brother gets sick, Tom's shipped off to spend what he's sure will be a boring summer with his aunt and uncle in the country. But then Tom hears the old grandfather clock in the hall chime thirteen times, and he's transported back to an old garden where he meets a mysterious girl named Hatty. Tom returns to the garden every night to have adventures with Hatty, who grows a little older with each visit. As the summer comes to an end, Tom realizes he wants to stay in the midnight garden with Hatty forever.
Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Tom's Midnight Garden is a classic of children's literature and a deeply satisfying time-travel mystery. This stunning graphic novel adaptation from award-winning French artist Edith transforms Philippa Pearce's story into an engaging visual adventure.
When Tom's brother gets sick, Tom's shipped off to spend what he's sure will be a boring summer with his aunt and uncle in the country. But then Tom hears the old grandfather clock in the hall chime thirteen times, and he's transported back to an old garden where he meets a mysterious girl named Hatty. Tom returns to the garden every night to have adventures with Hatty, who grows a little older with each visit. As the summer comes to an end, Tom realizes he wants to stay in the midnight garden with Hatty forever.
Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Tom's Midnight Garden is a classic of children's literature and a deeply satisfying time-travel mystery. This stunning graphic novel adaptation from award-winning French artist Edith transforms Philippa Pearce's story into an engaging visual adventure.
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
May 27, 2018
Wonderful book! I didn't expect to like this much, as Tom's Midnight Garden is such a beautiful story, so expected this would not live up to the original. Although I haven't read the original for some years, this version gave me exactly the same feeling. I loved this, the story telling seemed true to the original and the illustrations were very good. I'm not a huge fan of graphic novel style illustrations but you can tell this illustrator is a very good artist. The light and the subtle lines of the human body were excellent, some of the figures were quite sculptural and reminded me of Henry Moore's drawing and the feel of the pictures were very atmospheric. The story was quite moving, I'm very impressed. Instead of passing this library book to my daughter to read next, I'm returning it so I can buy her a copy for Christmas. Lovely version of a wonderful story, highly recommended.
June 29, 2018
I was enchanted by this graphic novel adaptation of the classic novel. EDITH's artwork, both lovely and ethereal, certainly adds to the charm of this timeless story.
I love the second panel with the sun filtering through the trees. Gorgeous!
I've not read the original source material, so I really can't compare the two, though I will say the graphic novel made me also want to read the book. I'm pretty sure that's a compliment.
I love the second panel with the sun filtering through the trees. Gorgeous!
I've not read the original source material, so I really can't compare the two, though I will say the graphic novel made me also want to read the book. I'm pretty sure that's a compliment.
February 6, 2019
Real Rating: 3.75* of five
I confess I remember the novel this comic book...sorry, graphic adaptation...is based on very poorly. It was something I read from the Leona Doss Elementary School library in 1970 or so. It was sold to me as a time-travel story, so I was down...then I read it and it was all soppy and sweet. Yuck.
So now that I'm fifty years older, what did I think of the read? It's fine. I'm less averse to soppiness and sentiment. I'm not all that enamoured of Edith's illustrations, to be frank. They're pleasant, that's really the best thing I can find to say about them.
That's pretty typical. I'm not blown away.
So reading a comic book (standard disclaimer) still isn't the go-to amusement for me. It's fine, I'm not sorry I reacquainted myself with the story and honestly it's probably all to the good that I didn't re-attempt the original. The days ahead number ever fewer and spending them pursuing middling memories of moderately unhappy times? No thanks. Y'all go on ahead into this wooded area of fancy-schmancy comics, I'll be back here on the croquet lawn of tree books or up yonder at the entertainment center of ebooks.
I confess I remember the novel this comic book...sorry, graphic adaptation...is based on very poorly. It was something I read from the Leona Doss Elementary School library in 1970 or so. It was sold to me as a time-travel story, so I was down...then I read it and it was all soppy and sweet. Yuck.
So now that I'm fifty years older, what did I think of the read? It's fine. I'm less averse to soppiness and sentiment. I'm not all that enamoured of Edith's illustrations, to be frank. They're pleasant, that's really the best thing I can find to say about them.
That's pretty typical. I'm not blown away.
So reading a comic book (standard disclaimer) still isn't the go-to amusement for me. It's fine, I'm not sorry I reacquainted myself with the story and honestly it's probably all to the good that I didn't re-attempt the original. The days ahead number ever fewer and spending them pursuing middling memories of moderately unhappy times? No thanks. Y'all go on ahead into this wooded area of fancy-schmancy comics, I'll be back here on the croquet lawn of tree books or up yonder at the entertainment center of ebooks.
March 10, 2024
Well, because I have encountered a goodly number of graphic novel adaptations of classic children's novels which have just and totally not been to either my textual or to my visual tastes and after absolutely adoring Philippa Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden, I was naturally more than a bit worried that Édith's 2015 Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) would at best be but a pale reflection of Pearce's text and at worst really off-putting and horrid (but of course, I was also rather curious and so decided to try Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) anyhow). And yes, even though I do certainly consider Tom's Midnight Garden (that is the Philippa Pearce story) superior to Édith's graphic novel adaptation, I must say that I really have enjoyed how Édith's has visually rendered Tom's Midnight Garden, that she keeps in Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) the textual mysteries of the original intact, that she does not attempt to update and unnecessarily modernise, and delightfully, importantly, that the nature of time and memory (which play such an essential role for Philippa Pearce also happily do so for Édith.
Therefore and basically, Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) is thus pretty much the same theme and contents wise to what Philippa Pearce penned in 1958, with bored and miserable Tom time-slipping into the past to discover the Midnight Garden and meeting up with and befriending young orphaned Hatty, and who at the end of Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) (just like in the original novel) turns out to be Tom's aunt and uncle's present day landlady Mrs. Bartholomew). And frankly, the only very mild issue I personally do have with Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) is that Édith's pictures are or at least can be visually a bit scary and sometimes also rather overly descriptive, with the scenes that are taking place in the present, in 1958, depicted as drab, with adults who are tedious, indifferent and sometimes downright hostile, and with passages of dark and creepy menace. But conversely, when Tom enters the Midnight Garden, everything suddenly becomes bright, lushly green, almost tropical and so visually magical that while the garden as drawn by Édith is definitely visually delightful, it is also no longer really in any manner British and is also NOT AT ALL the garden of my personal imagination when I read Tom's Secret Garden, that Édith's aesthetic vision as shown in her artwork for Tom's Secret Garden (Graphic Novel) is interesting, makes sense, but is also not really my own.
Therefore and basically, Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) is thus pretty much the same theme and contents wise to what Philippa Pearce penned in 1958, with bored and miserable Tom time-slipping into the past to discover the Midnight Garden and meeting up with and befriending young orphaned Hatty, and who at the end of Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) (just like in the original novel) turns out to be Tom's aunt and uncle's present day landlady Mrs. Bartholomew). And frankly, the only very mild issue I personally do have with Tom's Midnight Garden (Graphic Novel) is that Édith's pictures are or at least can be visually a bit scary and sometimes also rather overly descriptive, with the scenes that are taking place in the present, in 1958, depicted as drab, with adults who are tedious, indifferent and sometimes downright hostile, and with passages of dark and creepy menace. But conversely, when Tom enters the Midnight Garden, everything suddenly becomes bright, lushly green, almost tropical and so visually magical that while the garden as drawn by Édith is definitely visually delightful, it is also no longer really in any manner British and is also NOT AT ALL the garden of my personal imagination when I read Tom's Secret Garden, that Édith's aesthetic vision as shown in her artwork for Tom's Secret Garden (Graphic Novel) is interesting, makes sense, but is also not really my own.
February 11, 2019
Fascinating, magical graphic novel about a boy who's sent to live with an aunt and uncle for the summer and discovers a portal to another time. Tom meets a little girl named Hatty in the garden he finds behind the old grandfather clock in the wall, and as he passes nights in her world, he starts to think he wants to stay there forever. What starts as an intriguing adventure becomes quite emotional, and this really reminded me of some favorite portal fantasy books I read in my childhood. If the kiddo in your life is sensitive to strong feelings, you might want to pre-read, but I can't recommend this enough for its artistry and its deep respect for the emotional lives of children.
February 7, 2019
This graphic novel presents a fascinating tale of time travel through reminiscences and friendship.
I have never read the original tale, but after reading this book I would like to.
I was thrilled to read about the trip to Ely. I am every familiar with that area of England and so it made me nostalgic for my own visits there.
I have never read the original tale, but after reading this book I would like to.
I was thrilled to read about the trip to Ely. I am every familiar with that area of England and so it made me nostalgic for my own visits there.
January 20, 2022
Love the illustrator’s style! The drawings of nature and landscape, including shadows cast by natural sunlight, are especially charming. The facial expressions are also very cute and sometimes cheeky. As for the story, I haven’t read the original novel but now i’m quite curious to check it out. I think time travel is quite a rare element in British children’s classics (though the novel was published in 1958, so it’s not that old) so the tone and vibe is quite interesting, and I really enjoyed the twists.
I also loved the little afterword by Frederic Bezian. He said Philippa Pearce, the author of the original novel, once wrote to him, “I like a good ghost story, but I no longer expect them to make me believe in ghosts.” And Bezian added, “We are all a ghost to somebody, as long as that person remembers us.”
I also loved the little afterword by Frederic Bezian. He said Philippa Pearce, the author of the original novel, once wrote to him, “I like a good ghost story, but I no longer expect them to make me believe in ghosts.” And Bezian added, “We are all a ghost to somebody, as long as that person remembers us.”
March 10, 2019
This is a graphic adaptation of a much beloved children's classic that I hadn't heard about, and since my library had a copy, I thought I'd give it a try.
His brother has the measles, so young Tom, is shipped off to stay with an Uncle and Aunt until he gets the all clear. What a boring way to spend the summer! Well, it turns out that there is this mysterious thing that happens when the old grandfather clock in the hallway chimes thirteen times. A time portal opens, and things perk up a lot after that.
I really liked that this lovely story does not dumb down the emotional lives of children. Time travel is tricky and tough for adults, let alone a kid, to wrap their minds around. When one does time travel, who is real and who is the ghost? It's interesting that the two main characters seemed to have no angst about any of this. Adults would surely have been in therapy by night #3. The kid just takes it all in stride. The art is well done, and I enjoyed the satisfying ending. The thing I loved most were the long letters that Tom sends to his brother. Burn After Reading indeed!
His brother has the measles, so young Tom, is shipped off to stay with an Uncle and Aunt until he gets the all clear. What a boring way to spend the summer! Well, it turns out that there is this mysterious thing that happens when the old grandfather clock in the hallway chimes thirteen times. A time portal opens, and things perk up a lot after that.
I really liked that this lovely story does not dumb down the emotional lives of children. Time travel is tricky and tough for adults, let alone a kid, to wrap their minds around. When one does time travel, who is real and who is the ghost? It's interesting that the two main characters seemed to have no angst about any of this. Adults would surely have been in therapy by night #3. The kid just takes it all in stride. The art is well done, and I enjoyed the satisfying ending. The thing I loved most were the long letters that Tom sends to his brother. Burn After Reading indeed!
December 12, 2018
Such a beautifully designed graphic novel of Pearce’s time-travel story!
March 8, 2018
Une BD qui donne terriblement envie de plonger dans le livre. Une bonne manière de découvrir l'univers du Jardin de minuit, suffisamment intrigante pour ne rien gâcher !
October 18, 2021
Хорошая адаптация, мне понравилось.
April 22, 2024
Das war nichts für mich.
Ich fand die Geschichte leicht eingestaubt und dröge.
Ich fand die Geschichte leicht eingestaubt und dröge.
September 13, 2025
Lovely story!
May 1, 2019
5 stars.
....and if you look through the star, you cant see anything. Sometimes I like that the best of all. You look and see nothing, and you might think there wasn't a garden at all; but, all the time, of course, there is, waiting for you.
Pg.45
Ohh boy, this book has stolen my heart ❤❤❤❤❤
Enough said.
....and if you look through the star, you cant see anything. Sometimes I like that the best of all. You look and see nothing, and you might think there wasn't a garden at all; but, all the time, of course, there is, waiting for you.
Pg.45
Ohh boy, this book has stolen my heart ❤❤❤❤❤
Enough said.
August 7, 2022
What a beautiful story. Beautiful art as well. I’ve not read Tom's Midnight Garden, but I just might have to now. I’m sure the novel is even better than this adaptation.
August 7, 2018
A beautiful graphic edition of a favorite book....The garden could have perhaps been even more beautiful, though it is my favorite fictional garden just about so I have perhaps an unrealistic image of it in my mind....
November 12, 2018
It was so interesting to read this graphic novel rendition of the classic, Tom’s Midnight Garden. I liked both the original and this version very much.
March 22, 2025
Really good adaption. True to the story and very accurately and nicely drawn.
March 24, 2022
Excellent graphic novel! My daughter brought it home from the school library and I read it out loud- mildly spooky, yet gentle and moving.
January 25, 2016
j'ai tellement adoré cet histoire que j'ai conseillé à mon fils de le lire! très touchant et tendre portrait de l'enfance.
August 21, 2021
It's beautifully illustrated, but I think I would have enjoyed the original a bit more just because it probably has a bit more depth? But it's really good nonetheless and worth a read! ✨
*3.5 ⭐
*3.5 ⭐
May 25, 2022
Mit dieser Graphic Novel wird das Kinderbuch »Als die Uhr dreizehn schlug« von Philippa Pearce adaptiert, das im englischen Original unter dem Titel »Tom’s Midnight Garden« anno 1958 erschien und als eines der bedeutendsten Kinderbücher englischer Literatur gilt.
Die Geschichte beginnt sehr gemächlich, als Tom zu seiner Tante zieht, weil sein Bruder Peter an Masern erkrankte und er so vor einer Ansteckung geschützt werden sollte. Für den Fall, dass er sich doch schon angesteckt hat, muss er für mindestens zwei Wochen im Haus seiner Tante wohnen, ohne dieses verlassen zu dürfen. Hier ist Langeweile vorprogrammiert bis eine alte Pendeluhr im Flur des Nachts plötzlich dreizehn schlägt und er daraufhin einen verborgenen Garten entdeckt. Bis der Leser an dieser Stelle angekommen ist, dauert es eine Weile und ich finde, dass die Geschichte erst hier so richtig startet.
In diesem Garten entdeckt er das gleichaltrige Mädchen Hatty, mit dem im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte ein paar Fragen auftauchen, die das Buch erst richtig spannend machen. Mehr möchte ich an dieser Stelle von der Handlung nicht verraten, nur dass sich die Leser und Leserinnen ein paar Fragen zu Raum und Zeit machen können. Und das in einer Art und Weise, die auch Kinder nicht überfordert.
Leider kenne ich die Vorlage nicht, aber so, wie über den Roman geschrieben wird, kann ich vermuten, dass die emotionalen Momente im Roman deutlich spürbarer sein müssen als hier in der Graphic Novel. Vielleicht sollte ich den Roman im Nachgang lesen, um diese Vermutung zu prüfen. Ich denke zudem, dass diejenigen, die den Roman kennen, sehr emotionaler auf die jeweiligen Treffen zwischen Tom und Hatty reagieren werden. Ich möchte zwar nicht sagen, dass die Graphic Novel gefühlskalt ist, aber sie schafft es nur bedingt, das Paar im rechten Licht zu zeigen.
Die Zeichnungen kommen auf den ersten Blick etwas altbacken daher, weshalb sie meines Erachtens recht gut zu Geschichte passen, von der bis zum Schluss nicht hundertprozentig klar ist, in welcher Zeit sie eigentlich spielt. Was letzten Endes auch nebensächlich ist.
Fazit
Diese Graphic Novel Adaption erzählt eine ungewöhnliche und tiefsinnige Geschichte, die vielleicht den „bewegendsten Moment“ der Kinderliteratur nicht im gleichen Maße transportieren kann wie der Roman. Dennoch schafft die Künstlerin Edith eine Geschichte zu erzählen, die auch jüngere Leser mit Spannung verfolgen werden. Wer die Vorlage kennt, sollte unbedingt zugreifen, alles anderen nur, falls die Story einigermaßen ansprechend ist.
Die Geschichte beginnt sehr gemächlich, als Tom zu seiner Tante zieht, weil sein Bruder Peter an Masern erkrankte und er so vor einer Ansteckung geschützt werden sollte. Für den Fall, dass er sich doch schon angesteckt hat, muss er für mindestens zwei Wochen im Haus seiner Tante wohnen, ohne dieses verlassen zu dürfen. Hier ist Langeweile vorprogrammiert bis eine alte Pendeluhr im Flur des Nachts plötzlich dreizehn schlägt und er daraufhin einen verborgenen Garten entdeckt. Bis der Leser an dieser Stelle angekommen ist, dauert es eine Weile und ich finde, dass die Geschichte erst hier so richtig startet.
In diesem Garten entdeckt er das gleichaltrige Mädchen Hatty, mit dem im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte ein paar Fragen auftauchen, die das Buch erst richtig spannend machen. Mehr möchte ich an dieser Stelle von der Handlung nicht verraten, nur dass sich die Leser und Leserinnen ein paar Fragen zu Raum und Zeit machen können. Und das in einer Art und Weise, die auch Kinder nicht überfordert.
Leider kenne ich die Vorlage nicht, aber so, wie über den Roman geschrieben wird, kann ich vermuten, dass die emotionalen Momente im Roman deutlich spürbarer sein müssen als hier in der Graphic Novel. Vielleicht sollte ich den Roman im Nachgang lesen, um diese Vermutung zu prüfen. Ich denke zudem, dass diejenigen, die den Roman kennen, sehr emotionaler auf die jeweiligen Treffen zwischen Tom und Hatty reagieren werden. Ich möchte zwar nicht sagen, dass die Graphic Novel gefühlskalt ist, aber sie schafft es nur bedingt, das Paar im rechten Licht zu zeigen.
Die Zeichnungen kommen auf den ersten Blick etwas altbacken daher, weshalb sie meines Erachtens recht gut zu Geschichte passen, von der bis zum Schluss nicht hundertprozentig klar ist, in welcher Zeit sie eigentlich spielt. Was letzten Endes auch nebensächlich ist.
Fazit
Diese Graphic Novel Adaption erzählt eine ungewöhnliche und tiefsinnige Geschichte, die vielleicht den „bewegendsten Moment“ der Kinderliteratur nicht im gleichen Maße transportieren kann wie der Roman. Dennoch schafft die Künstlerin Edith eine Geschichte zu erzählen, die auch jüngere Leser mit Spannung verfolgen werden. Wer die Vorlage kennt, sollte unbedingt zugreifen, alles anderen nur, falls die Story einigermaßen ansprechend ist.
May 8, 2019
Tom is staying at his aunt and uncle's apartment while his brother recovers from measles. There is not much to do, and no outdoor space to play. But when the landlord's clock strikes thirteen and Tom goes to investigate, he discovers a lush garden outside--and a time and place outside his own. There is even a friend there to play with. Who is Hatty--and where is this mysterious world Tom is visiting night after night? A graphic adaptation of a 1958 Carnegie Medal winner, that feels timeless.
May 21, 2021
Now that I have read the GN version of this book I am looking forward to reading the original. A book of a child who discovers time travel in the back garden struggles to make meaning of his experiences.
May 18, 2025
I loved Tom's Midnight Garden as a kid and this adaptation is well done
July 14, 2018
Une jolie lecture qui m'aura donné envie de découvrir le roman de Philippa Pearce que je ne connaissais pas du tout.
J'ai été un peu moins réceptive au graphisme.
J'ai été un peu moins réceptive au graphisme.
January 9, 2022
Tom's Midnight Garden was one of "my" books as a kid, a treasure I read over and over to myself and assumed that nobody else had ever heard of or cared about. It seems I was mistaken in that; it is a classic of children's literature, often filmed and warmly remembered by a host of critics and writers like Philip Pullman. So be it, I can share.
For all my love of this book, I haven't actually read it in decades. So it was a strange experience reading through it in graphic novel form. Here were all my favorite bits, coming to life on the page in front of me. I can't really tell what a new reader would think of this slightly odd duck -- it's languid, dreamlike, told mostly through letters -- but it's still the story that I love.
For all my love of this book, I haven't actually read it in decades. So it was a strange experience reading through it in graphic novel form. Here were all my favorite bits, coming to life on the page in front of me. I can't really tell what a new reader would think of this slightly odd duck -- it's languid, dreamlike, told mostly through letters -- but it's still the story that I love.
July 22, 2024
What a beautiful story - I shall look in to the original book by Pearce, now.
Read
January 5, 2025non ho capito niente
November 22, 2025
Delightful
Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews