The Secrets Tree

The Hounds of Penhallow Hall #4

by Holly Webb, Jason Cockcroft (Illustrator)

It's Halloween at Penhallow Hall and while celebrations are in full swing at the stately home, Polly and Rex are in search of a new ghost dog. Down in the old stable block they come across a dog's head carved in a wooden door and wake a terrier called Patch. The little dog is terrified of the changes to his old home and runs off. When Polly and Rex find Patch hiding in a hollow tree they find themselves on the trail of an even greater mystery. Inside the tree is a coded message from Patch's master, Jack, to his older brother. From Patch's description Polly and Rex realize that Jack's brother must have been a highwayman! But the message remains unread. Can Polly and Rex discover what happened to the brothers?

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Holly Webb is one of Britain's best-loved children's writers. She has written over a hundred books for children, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Holly lives in Tilehurst, just outside of Reading, Berkshire, with her husband, three children and several cats.

Reviews

[Dana-Adriana B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fara sa stiu, am inceput cu partea a 4-a a seriei, dar nu e o tragedie. Polly impreuna cu cativa catei "fantoma" incearca sa descifreze un mesaj codificat lasat de un baietel in urma cu peste 300 de ani fratelui sau.
Limbajul povestii e simplu si explicatiile de la finalul cartii, cu privire la tipuri de coduri sunt interesante.

[Sarah Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polly lives in the grounds of a stately home, Penhallow Hall, where her mother works as a museum curator and this book, The Secrets Tree, is the 4th in the series, Hounds of Penhallow Hall. The Hall is guarded by the spirits of dogs who have lived there during various historical eras, and Polly is able to ‘awaken’ these guardians and befriend them in order to together solve mysteries of the Hall’s past. I absolutely loved reading this book! I hadn’t realised it was the 4th in the series when choosing it, but the premise was explained quickly and I didn’t feel lost, and it seems each book ‘awakens’ a dog from a different time - this book looked at Charles II and the 1600s, the first at WW1 for example. It sprinkles in facts from the time period as Polly learns more about the dogs and their past owners with a heavy dose of mystery, for example in this book they needed to learn not only about highwaymen and the restoration but also how to crack codes and ciphers using different methods. A short but easy to read chapter book, I would recommend this for ages 8+ and I genuinely want to read the others in the series and find out about some of the other guardian dogs’ history and what other mysteries they and Polly can solve!

[Prodan Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Review 12 of 2022]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is about Polly and her ghost dog friend Rex, Halloween is fast approaching and Polly wakes Patch whose a ghost dog who lived 300 years ago. He can’t remember what happened to his master, Jake, so Polly and Rex go on a mission to help him remember.

Even though this book is aimed at juveniles I really enjoyed it! Maybe it says a lot about me as a person I am not sure but I found the story quite enjoyable. Polly was a really likeable character and it was really nice to see the message that the book was trying to convey, in my opinion, that you’re never too busy to help someone who needs it.

Maybe that wasn’t the message she was going for but that’s what I would’ve taken from it.

I liked that even thought this book is aimed at children it is written in a way that doesn’t feel childish, if that makes sense. It is just a quick easy story that I listened to during work and found myself actually becoming quite invested.

Overall really good!

[Alessandra Cracan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Codurile de la finalul cărţii sunt super!!!

[Teri B · Rating 4 out of 5]

And I finish the reading year of 2023 with a ghostly dog story that has all the creepiness, the mystery and the emotions one could wish for.

[Bunia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kochsm ten tom bardzo lubię jak Pola przez przypadek spotkala nowego ducha a nie tak jak resztę specjalnie szukała. Lubię fakt że kiedy odkrywaliśmy historie nowego ducha były też przygotowywania do Halloween co było miłym przerywnikiem do poznawania nowego pieska który jest bardzo slodki. Polecam każdemu

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite nice and full of adventures and dogs! The book is partly historical, but the way it was written is, I think, for youngerchildren.