The Secret Garden by Marta Nelson

Artist StatementI chose to recover a cherished book from my childhood, The Secret Garden. I have always loved this book. As a young girl, this book inspired me to go outside, play in the garden, make friends with the wild animals. The Secret Garden is a wonderful children's book and I was excited for the chance to redesign the cover. Most of the book covers for the secret garden depict the garden and Mary as the main images. I wanted to break away from that and focus on a different character from the book for the front cover. For the main images on the cover, I chose the Robin and a partially hidden key. The Robin is such an important part of the story. He befriends Mary, an unloved and unloving little girl and helps her discover the key to the Secret Garden. With out the robin, the secret garden would still be a secret. — Marta Nelson