Davy: A Garden for Everyone

by Brigitte Weninger, Eve Tharlet (Illustrator), David Henry Wilson (Translator)

This final title in the celebrated Davy series is a warm-hearted, intergenerational story about helping one's neighbors and gardening as a community.

In Davy’s neighborhood there’s a garden that was once beautiful, but is now all overgrown. The elderly owner can no longer take care of it, and she urgently needs help. Luckily, Davy and his family come to the rescue! A charming tale about cooperation and community spirit.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 10, 2026

Reviews

[CYIReadBooks (Claire) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davy: A Garden for Everyone is a sweet and heartwarming addition to the beloved Davy series. In this story, young rabbit Davy and his family discover that their elderly neighbor, Mrs. Elsie has an overgrown garden she can no longer tend. They rally together to help restore it, turning a once-neglected space into a beautiful garden that everyone can enjoy. It's a gentle, intergenerational tale that celebrates cooperation, neighborly kindness, and the joys of gardening as a community.The story is entertaining and perfectly paced—just the right length for its intended audience of kindergarten through second grade (roughly ages 5-8). It holds young readers' attention without dragging on, making it an ideal read-aloud or early independent read.

The illustrations by Eve Tharlet are absolutely adorable and incredibly appealing to little ones. The soft, detailed artwork brings the rabbit family and the garden to life with warmth and charm—kids will love poring over the pages.That said, a few parts of the narrative felt like they got a bit lost in translation, with some minor disconnects in the flow that made the progression feel slightly uneven at times. It didn't detract too much from the overall enjoyment, but it kept this from being a full 5-star read for me.

Overall, this is a lovely, feel-good picture book that promotes positive values. Great for families looking for stories about helping others and working together—4 well-deserved stars!

I was invited to read a DRC from NorthSouth Books through NetGalley. This review is my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Christine Sturman · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one can do everything by themselves. Davy finds this out in Brigitte Weninger’s book, “Davy: A Garden For Everyone”. In this final book of the Davy series, Davy and his friend Nicky meet an older rabbit by the stream. She is carrying a heavy watering can full of water. Davy helps her by carrying the water to her garden that is hidden behind an overgrown hedge. Davy and Nicky help the older rabbit, Mrs. Elsie with her garden. They return to help the next day with Davy’s family. Everyone helps Mrs. Elsie throughout the summer to restore the garden to its former beauty. It takes everyone’s help to do this big job.

This is a wonderful story about helping others. It helps children understand that every little bit can help and anyone can help in some way. I like Eva Tharlet’s illustrations of this story. They are clear, whimsical and greatly enhance the storyline. I’m sorry to hear that this is the last installment of this series as it imparts good messages in ways that children can easily understand. I can see this book being used as a lap read book as well as a group story time book. I think that preschoolers and up will enjoy, appreciate and understand the message in this book.

I wish to thank NorthSouth Books Inc for the complimentary eARC of this book and for selecting me to review it on NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#DavyAGardenForEveryone
#NorthSouthBooksInc
#NetGalley
#ChildrensFiction

[Jessica Yeager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Davy: A Garden for Everyone is a beautiful story about friendship, cooperation, and the power of working together. Through its simple but heartfelt narrative, the book offers a meaningful message about weathering hard storms and finding hope on the other side.

I especially appreciated how the story acknowledges challenges without lingering on them, instead focusing on growth, resilience, and new life after the rain. The garden becomes a powerful symbol not just of teamwork, but of what can happen when people choose compassion and care for one another.

The ending is particularly lovely. Mrs. Elsie’s decision to keep the gate open and make the garden a space for everyone transforms the story into something even bigger than collaboration. It becomes a story about community, belonging, and shared responsibility.

This is a warm, hopeful read that naturally opens the door to conversations about kindness, perseverance, and how we can create spaces where everyone feels welcome.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the e-ARC of this title to read and review. This is a sweet and charming story about a family taking over an elderly neighbor's garden to provide a little more TLC. It's a nice tale about coming together as a family and as a community, and also a must-read for little gardeners who love exploring the things we can grow at home. I would say that the story is very text-heavy though, both visually on-page with a LOT of lines going on, and longwinded sentences that would be harder for new readers and even read-alouds. The story feels like it's being narrated by a kind narrator telling extra details in the plot itself, but it does feel like a whopper that could have either been edited back a bit or text-aligned differently on pages so it's spread out among the pages.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from NorthSouth Books Inc. through NetGalley.
The latest Davy book.
Davy and his family are back for another adventure. This time, Davy discovers a hidden garden and meets the owner. Mrs. Elsie can no longer care for her garden so accepts help from Davy and his family. When the garden is in danger of being destroyed, Davy and his siblings save it and rescue the vegetables and flowers. The family offers to build a new gate, but Mrs. Elsie opens the garden to everyone. Sweet story of taking care of our neighbors and sharing what we have. The illustrations are detailed and offer further information about the text. A fun read together or read on their own.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have some of the many books in the Davy series in my school library. In this adventure young Davy and his family help an elderly neighbor, Mrs. Elsie when she can no longer manage her garden on her own. Working together with his family and community they reclaim the space into something everyone can enjoy. The message is sweet and the illustrations are beautiful. The writing is more wordy and not rhyming which may be harder for new readers. But older picture book readers will enjoy it. Intended for K-3. Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the ARC and I am leaving an honest review.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world needs more helpers. When Davy finds elderly Mrs. Elsie Rabbit struggling to carry a heavy watering can to her parched garden, he offers to help. Upon seeing the hidden garden, he enthusiastically offers to help the old rabbit bring her garden back to life and recruits his family and eventually the community to help. This tale has gentle illustrations with a community of forest animals who share the load and build friendships while helping others; a delightful children's book to read, promoting togetherness and community spirit.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 048 of 365 ~ 2026

🌟🌟🌟

Sweet story and beautiful illustrations but it drives me nuts when the words get lost in the pictures as they chose the wrong font colour. Maybe it's just me.

I received a complimentary copy of the ebook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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[Julie Ditton · Rating 4 out of 5]

DAVY IS DELIGHTFUL

This adorable picture book is a delightful tale about cooperation and community. When Davy helps an old rabbit lug water from the stream back to her garden, he discovers a paradise that is now overrun because she can no longer keep up with all the work. He recruits his family and they spend the summer getting it back in shape. when rain finally does come, the storm threatens to flood the garden. But the quick thinking rabbit and his siblings, manage to work together to avoid disaster. The pastel watercolor illustrations add a quiet touch to the sweet story. This is the last book in the Davy series. But you don't need to have read any of them to enjoy this one.

[Emily Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very text-heavy and the text is really small. Therefore, I would upgrade the age range of the book to just below chapter-book beginner. My kid had a hard time paying attention because I think it was a little too old for him. He is 9. It's sad that the world we live in requires a cute story about a bunny gardening to compete with screens and games and toys, but I think when text is small like that then kid attention wanders a little. There's nothing wrong with the story. We just weren't the right readers for this particular tale. I received a free ARC from the publisher.

[Bibliotekarien läser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big thanks to #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this DRC of #DavyAGardenforEveryone

None of Brigitte Weninger's books have been translated into Swedish, so I didn't know this author before, but I really liked what I read.
This book is about how everything gets better when you help each other out, and the little rabbit Davy shows this in a delightful way. He eventually gets his whole family to help old Mrs. Elsie clean up her garden and create a paradise for everyone. All's well that ends well!

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to be added to Amazon UK and US on 10 March 2026 - publication day!

I thought that this was a charming story about teamwork and working together.

The story was well written, easy to follow and understand and it was delightful from cover to cover. I loved the commitment in the book to succeed with the garden project and the determination to help out the older rabbit - some great messaging for kids.

The illustrations in the book were wonderful, they really brought the story to life.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, a lovely book - highly recommended!

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

These drawings, oh my! They're really sweet and perhaps a little nostalgic, at least for me. I love the message about Davy's family and other animals coming together to help out and kind of create a community-wide project, but I found the writing to be a bit lacking. It lacked the flair the illustrations possess...

Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books Inc. for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a charming little story! it was a pleasant read and had well-done illustrations. Worth the read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For more reviews and discussions, listen to my podcast The Honest Book Reviewers with Nate and Emma.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4...

[Danielle Mccoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this eBook from netGalley for a honest review.

Davy meets an elderly bunny who can't take care of her garden anymore. Davy helps her the first day and as time goes on his dad, mom and siblings all come to help her out. When a flood threatens the garden Davy and his siblings help to save it and soon the elderly bunny wants everyone to come and enjoy her space. A true garden for everyone.

[Katie N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was incredibly sweet. It definitely emphasizes community and helping out. It was clear what was going on and I believe children will pick up on it. The illustrations were nice and calming. Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the eARC.

[Robin Pelletier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the art style. The bunnies are so adorable. One baby bunny finds an older bunny can’t take care of her garden any longer. So he recruits his whole family to help her. It’s adorable that a whole community comes together to help.

[Mags (mbooksbycandlelight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely little book about nature and community. Definitely on the longer side, so I'd recommend it for older kids that can already read a little bit. The illustrations were beautiful and complemented the story very nicely. I think this book would be a great addition to any child's library once spring comes.