Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
May 19, 2023/in Fiction 10-14 Middle/Secondary /by Richard Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 260 May 2023
Reviewer: Nicholas Tucker
ISBN: 978-1035015733
Price: £12.99
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 10-14 Middle/Secondary
Length: 394pp
Buy the Book

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door

Author: Pari Thomson

Daisy Thistledown, aged eleven, is in search of her mother, a distinguished botanist who has disappeared on a dangerous trip to the Amazon rainforest. Shadowy evil figures are behind her abduction, but Daisy has one powerful ace up her sleeve. This is a glass paperweight enclosing a perfect dandelion clock, a parting present from her mother. Once utilised it enables her to enter the dazzling new world of Greenwild, existing side by side with our own day to day Greyside. Greenwild by contrast is only open to those with magical access through a door hidden away in Kew Gardens. Here nature itself is alive, playing a leading part by offering transport, first aid and last-minute rescue when it is most needed. With the help of all this plus a kitten, a botanical genius and a boy who can talk to birds, Daisy sets about first finding and then rescuing her mother in this most satisfying reversal or normal family roles.

There is perhaps a temptation when writing a first children’s novel to emulate previously tried and tested plots and characters, and this sometimes shows in these pages. There is really no need to resurrect once again the image of a mean, granite-faced ‘angular’ school matron ‘with arms like a praying mantis.’ Working with children is hard enough without having to fight off dreary old stereotypes from the past. Elsewhere nice characters once again have twinkling eyes while nasty ones generally glint behind lop-sided smiles. Once the author gets into nature in all its variety her writing takes on a new strength, and young readers will surely never see Kew Gardens in the same light again. There is a strong ecological message here too. Two more adventures involving Daisy’s adventures are planned. This one is a good start but could be even better.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Richard Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Richard Hill2023-05-19 15:06:252023-05-19 15:06:25Greenwild: The World Behind the Door

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

Download BfK Issue Bfk 273 July 2025
Skip to an Issue:

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Debut Authors and Interrupters – the 2025 Little Rebels Award Shortlist

July 17, 2025

The School Library Association Announces Honours Lists for 2025 Awards

July 14, 2025

Margaret McDonald and her editors Alice Swan and Ama Badu win the 2025 Branford Boase Award

July 9, 2025

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2025 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
The Circles in the Sky The Curio Collectors
Scroll to top