Illustrated by Elisa Paganelli.

Published by Macmillan Children’s Books, 2023.

Greenwild transports you to a vividly imagined new world – full of wonder and magic. A larder tree providing food on demand, lily pad water taxis, and vines that help with the washing up – the Greenwild is the stuff of dreams.

When Daisy Thistledown’s journalist mother sets off on a dangerous assignment, she leaves Daisy behind and temporarily enrols her at a strict boarding school. Mysteriously, Daisy’s mother goes missing and soon danger closes in on Daisy too, leading her to make a hasty escape. Her flight takes her to Kew Gardens where she discovers a hidden door that leads her to the rich, vibrant and impossibly beautiful world of the Greenwild.

Daisy finds herself in Mallowmarsh, an extraordinary botanical garden and pocket of the Greenwild. Here nature is wild, otherworldly and alive with magic. The Botanists who live and work here use green magic and care deeply for the natural world. Then, strange things start to happen. Just as Daisy’s mother disappeared in suspicious circumstances, so too are Botanist explorers vanishing without a trace. Daisy learns that not even the splendour of the Greenwild is safe from a powerful force that threatens green magic on both sides of the door…

With the help of a magical prodigy, a boy who can talk to birds, and Napoleon the cat, Daisy channels an ancient magic that has the power to save the Greenwild – and her own world too.

The plot hinges around a vitally important environmental message about conservation and protecting our planet. The book serves as an important and timely reminder of the threats facing plants and animals and of the role we all need to play in ensuring their survival. I loved how there’s a tangible passion for the natural world running throughout the book; with the fabulous and fantastical descriptions, love for the natural world is bursting from every page. This is matched by Elisa’s exquisite illustrations which perfectly capture the beauty and brilliance of nature.

I also loved the colourful cast of characters, the mouthwatering descriptions of food, and the great adventure that you get swept up in. The elements of mystery and the plot twists kept me guessing and the book’s gorgeous endpapers were a delight – a beautifully detailed map of Mallowmarsh, which I referenced all the time as I read.

Friendship, bravery, magic and adventure – Greenwild has everything you could want from a book and I can’t wait to join Daisy and her friends again in the two remaining books in the series.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙💙

Suitable for children aged 8+

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Books for sending me this book to review. I reviewed this book as part of the Greenwild, the World Behind the Door blog tour. Check out all the other posts on the tour for more exclusive content.