The Mud Maid: a magical story of the Lost Gardens of Heligan by Sandra Horn with beautiful illustrations by Karen Popham. It is told through the eyes of the Mud Maid, a sleeping sculpture in the Woodland Walk made by Sue Hill and Pete Hill in 1998. Once, over a hundred years ago, the gardens of Heligan were in their full glory. Magnificent trees and flowering shrubs surrounded the lawns. Oranges and lemons grew outside in the summer; the great walled vegetable garden had melon and peach houses, and a pineapple pit warmed by manure collected from the farm. A path through tree ferns led to the Crystal Grotto. A lake was created in a woodland setting. Then, the First World War took the gardeners away and many did not return. The family who owned Heligan moved away, and the gardens fell into ruin. They lay hidden under a thick blanket of trees and brambles for seventy years, until Tim Smit and his friends came across the ruins and had a dream: they would make the gardens live again. How they found and rescued the Lost Gardens of Heligan is like an adventure story; it is full of hope against the odds, romance and valour. Best of all, it is true.

 

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2005 by The Clucket Press .

Karen Popham took a Fine Arts degree at Central St. Martins then went on to teach at Colchester Art College and Lewisham Art College. She has been artist in residence at the Reform Club and the Laban Centre and has exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Festival Hall. Karen has written and illustrated the Little Swan series for Random House. She lives in London with her husband and three children, two of whom are the William and Ellie of the story.