The Secret Place

Name: The Secret Place
Price: 12.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Vernis Rucker

By Vernis Rucker · Ages 8+

The Story

In her secret place on the hillside — grass, flowers, a big blue lake, and the animals she loves — Cure spends her days reading, dreaming, and hosting tea parties with her imaginary friends. Everything changes when she hears a small voice crying out from the brush: Zeek, a tiny green visitor from the planet Oton, has crashed his ship and broken his leg. To return home and prove his bravery to his bride-to-be, Zeek needs to bring back a rose from Earth. Cure nurses him back to health, helps repair his ship, and helps him find the most beautiful red rose in her secret place. Years later, all grown up, Cure passes her secret place — and its sense of wonder — on to her own daughter, Natessa, who discovers a secret friend of her own. The Secret Place is a story about imagination, friendship, and the courage it takes to help someone find their way home.

A Peek Inside

Cure and her father feeding the pigs, cows, chickens, and horses on the family farm — Cure's favorite time of day — feeding the animals with her father.

Cure sitting by the lake having tea, with a swan and Zeek nearby on a red picnic blanket — Tea parties by the lake, in Cure's secret place.

Cure at a tea party in the flowers, startled by a speech bubble reading HELP ME — A tea party interrupted by a tiny voice crying out for help.

Cure kneeling in the tall grass, discovering tiny Zeek lying injured on the ground — A tiny voice crying out from the grass.

Close up of Cure smiling with tiny Zeek perched beside her — Cure meets Zeek, a visitor from the planet Oton.

Cure sitting cross-legged beside her dollhouse, where Zeek is staying — "You are my secret friend."

Cure in her father's workshop, carefully repairing Zeek's tiny spaceship — Fixing Zeek's ship in her father's workshop.

Cure smiling while working on Zeek's small spaceship on the workbench

Cure resting in the grass with Zeek nearby, her spaceship prop beside them — Searching for the perfect red rose.

Aerial view of the hillside as Zeek's spaceship prepares to depart, with a small inset scene inside the ship

Grown-up Cure smiling and holding tiny Zeek in her palm — "We are friends forever."

Cure waving goodbye from the hillside as Zeek's ship departs

Grown Cure and her daughter Natessa waving from the hillside, with Zeek's ship approaching in the distance — The secret place, passed on to the next generation.

A tiny green girl named Cure, Zeek's daughter, standing in the tall grass near the spaceship — Zeek named his own daughter Cure, in honor of his best friend.

Grown-up Cure laughing among the daisies, holding an older Zeek with a grey beard in her palm — Years later, Zeek returns to the secret place once more.

Years later, grown-up Cure reunites with Zeek and his family on the hillside