Cover Image: Behind The Secret Garden Door

Behind The Secret Garden Door

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Member Reviews

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cute, cute book. Love the pictures and the story.

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If you love Westies, you're probably going to love this book. These dogs definitely have their own personalities and dedicated fans. And this was a sweet story of one who finds his way out of his own yard and finds a whole new world to explore. Along the way, he meets many new animal friends and even gets his human to go along with him to help him navigate his new friendships.

The illustrations appear to be hand-drawn, which is something you don't see as much of anymore. They were also sweet.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for fulfilling my request for a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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the drawings could be better, but it can be the definition of the images.
But it's a funny book, for kids!

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I’m in love with Teddy, the inwestigator! The illustrations are beautiful. This is an adorable book for dog lovers, young and old.

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This was a cute story! All of the animals in it were really cute, and kids will certainly enjoy it! The illustrations were spot on!

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Such a cute book! The illustrations are so "rough," which I'm not sure is the correct word to describe, but I loved the look of them. As if they were drawn with colored pencils directly on your page, and not digital. Would recommend to young children who love animals!

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Who Doesn't love a Westie (West Highland white terrier) book.........Behind The Secret Garden Door by Sandie Leigh is a lovely sweet book about a Westie who goes on a adventure behind a hidden door in his garden, after finding it whilst digging up the garden. He soon learns about the pearls of this garden and why its a secret to others. Teddy the westie meets all kinds of wonderful woodland creatures and becomes friends with the Red Fox of Kennelworth. You will meet three yellow finches, Farrel the Frog, King Elliot, a monarch butterfly. Sadly Teddy is having trouble fitting in with his new friends So he takes his little human sister called Charlotte who is very out spoken to the secret garden........They soon discovers life lessons along the way that will leave you longing for the next book.

I just loved this book and so did my Nephew.........But the Westie's name was changed to Millie after my Westie which made this book even more special to us.

I highly recommend this wonderful book and was purchased for my nephew for Christmas.....Hope his Mum and dad doesn't get fed up reading it to him. hehehe

Big Thank you to Purple Butterfly Press and Netgalley for this wonderful book for me to read and review.

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I just loved this book.
The illustrations were really captivating. I loved the home drawn or painted quality of them and their vibrancy really stuck out, just drawing you in.
The story is really sweet, following the adventure of Teddy MacDougal as he "inWESTIEgates" the hole behind the secret garden door.
We follow him on his adventures as the other animals warn him about the Red Fox.

This was totally charming and I can easily see parents, and grandparents alike reading this aloud.again and again.

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I'm now a fan of Teddy MacDougal! What a cutie.

This is a sweet children's picture book, created from pencil drawings (if I'm not mistaken). To be perfectly honest, it may not contain the cutest illustrations on every page, but overall definitely an enjoyable dog adventure to read with your kids.

If you love Westies like I do, you'll have to get this one.

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We sadly weren't a massive fan of Behind The Secret Garden. It was a nice enough story but was a bit long winded and the illustrations were a bit messy.

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This was a cute book about a dog following a fox through the secret door in the garden. Overall this book was good. The characters were likable and the illustrations were good. I would recommend this for pre-k to early elementary.

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I didn't really gel with this story and I had to push myself to carry on reading it.

It was ok but I can't see it being read more than once and my daughter lost interest and I think that sadly that was in part due to the images, they were drawn by hand which is a nice touch but we didn't really like them. It is only personal preference and other may really enjoy it but it is 2 stars from me for this one.

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Behind The Secret Garden Door
by Sandie Leigh
Reading level 3-10 years
Publisher Purple Butterfly Press
Publication date December 10, 2019
42 pages
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Description: Fall in love with cuddly Teddy MacDougal, an inquisitive West Highland white terrier on his mischievous adventure behind the Secret Garden Door. Once inside the garden, Teddy learns about the perils of the garden specifically, the Red Fox of Kennelworth. Meet all the woodland creatures from the author's garden like the three yellow finches, Farrel the Frog, King Elliot, a monarch butterfly and even Teddy's human little sister Charlotte. As an outspoken westie, Teddy finds himself struggling to fit in with his new friends and discovers a life lesson along the way that will leave you longing for the next book.
🐾🐶 MY REVIEW 🐶🐾
This is such a cute book to read to your children. My girls enjoyed it so much.
This sweet story teaches children about
curiosity, imagination , sense of adventure and kindness. The illustrations are adorable with a lot to look at. The girls fell in love with Teddy.This adorable story is perfect for bedtime reading. It's not to short , not to long, It is 42 pages. Little kids, especially ones that love animals , will love this book.The only bad thing about the book is the price. It will sell for $21.99 for hard cover which is way to expensive for most family's. Many thanks to the Publisher , the Author , and NetGalley for a ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way .#BehindTheSecretGardenDoor #NetGalley

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Whimsical and cute illustrations make this book a delight to read. Teddy MacDougal is adorable in his rain hat and boots.
When he hears a noise he is both scared and curious. He decides to investigate (or in~WESTIE~gate, since he is a West Highland terrier) and ends up making some new friends.
The birds start the conversation and bring Teddy's attention up above his head.

This is a lesson is looking around and seeing opportunities.
It is also about staying safe and sharing.

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A supercute and sweet story with lovely illustrations.
I love Teddy the Westie and I'd like to read further books with this character.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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Teddy the Westie has won my heart!

Told from the little doggo's perspective and illustrated with adorable art sketched by what seems to be colour pencils, this book follows Teddy's adventures in a garden. He explores plants and wildlife, most of which become his friends. Along the way, fun and fantastic things happen - including an encounter with a fox wherein his new friends prove the value of friendship - and he learns an important life lesson about thinking of others' feelings.

I enjoyed the illustrations and story and would happily share this book with the children in my family. It also just feels like a breath of fresh air - a labour of love where someone sat down and drew these pictures to fit the story. As a traditional-medium artist with a similar aesthetic that isn't the same as most published books, this inspires me!

Though I did notice a couple issues - one instance of the text being hard to read over the background and one of a word accidentally typed twice - overall I think this is a quality book that children who like animals will very much enjoy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm glad to have discovered this book, which I may have never experienced otherwise.

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This is a super cute book about the adventures of Teddy. One day while exploring, he finds an entire secret world he didn't know existed. He meets new animals and friends in the garden, as he avoids the Red Fox. The illustrations are fun and the story is really cute. My kids will love Teddy.

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Cute story overall.
The artwork was okay. Why two styles? One was more serious and the other was rather goofy. Did the author want that?
I was not a fan of the typesetting. I saw where the challenges could have come in but I also saw other alternatives to those problems that might have made the project look nicer overall.

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A pretty good story, but a bit different at the same time. I loved some of the artwork, and some of it not so much. I always wonder what my dog does when I'm not around, what is she thinking. well, we find out what this one gets up to when his owner isn't around and he almost got himself into trouble!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
#BehindTheSecretGardenDoor

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OMG I love this book. I have a little Westie of my own and this is what I imagine she is up to when she’s dreaming on the sofa. I love the animation in this book and the sweet story about this little Westie Teddy and his westitude which my dog has in spades just made me smile. A great book for children and adults alike I thinkz

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