The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

When Molly and her brother Kip enter sourwoods it is eerily silent and foreboding.  Dire straits have forced them to accept work as servants at the manor house that stands within its confines.  Approaching the crumbling mansion they notice a towering tree has intertwined its branches into and around the house.  The inhabitants are not welcoming and the children soon find that the house is visited each night by a malevolent specter , the night gardener, who brings them bad dreams and steals their life  force to feed the tree.   As the humans grow pale and shadowy, the tree grants them their dearest wishes insuring that they never leave.   Can the children break the spell and free them from the evil that has sent out roots to ensnare them all.   A spooky tale from the masterful storyteller who brought us Peter Nibble and His Fantastic Eyes.

Tessa's Picks
4th-7th grade
Fantasy, horror, supernatural

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