The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

This is the book that the movie The Secret of Moonacre is based on. While the overall plots are the same-Victorian city girl goes to live in the country with a relative in a decaying house and discovers strange things going on in the neighborhood and resolves and ancient curse with the aid of a local boy-the movie took the plot elements and worked them into a completely different story.

The book, while charming and endearing, is also almost way too wholesome and virtuous to encounter for the first time when you’re almost 30. I was also surprised by the very strong Christian theme throughout the book (I suspect it’s less obvious to children, who are likely to notice the “don’t steal,” “don’t lie,” “apologize for your actions,” etc. more than the references to God) but that’s mostly removed from the movie. I kind of wish I’d read this as a child so that I could compare the nostalgic memories with Narnia, about which I have conflicted feelings.