The Boy and the Wildlife Garden

When Oliver opens a creaky gate behind a tumbledown wall, he discovers a forgotten garden overgrown with tall weeds, an old spade leaning against a shed. Armed with red wellington boots, a trowel and a packet of seeds, he decides this neglected place needs a friend. His neighbour Mrs Penny, who once tended the garden herself, offers flower seeds and simple advice: start small. Oliver plants, waters and waits until tiny green shoots appear, and he begins a notebook to record everything that happens.

Life soon gathers in the garden. A bold robin with a silver ring on its leg becomes Pip, blue tits and finches visit a wooden feeder Oliver builds, and a hedgehog named Hazel settles into a snug house of brick and leaves beneath the hedge. Oliver sinks an old washing-up bowl into the ground as a pond and learns from Mrs Penny how a log pile and bundles of hollow canes can help beetles and bees. This gentle tale by Jane MEADOW follows his patient work and can be read on Kids Tale Book.