Toot & Puddle: How Does Your Garden Grow?

by Holly Hobbie

Bestselling and beloved characters Toot and Puddle return twenty-five years after their debut with a brand-new story full of the same charm and whimsy that originally made they so popular.

Toot & Puddle, with help from cousin Opal, are planting the dream garden they've always wanted. But when the plants arrive, so does trouble. Someone or some thing keeps eating all of the spinach! Not wanting to share with the thief, they try everything from putting up signs to fencing the garden in, all to keep out the unwanted visitor. When the trio finally does find out who's eating all the vegetables, they decide that maybe sharing is the best way to go after all.

Holly Hobbie renders these beloved characters in exquisite watercolor, and has us rooting for them to the end.

Genres: Picture Books, Gardening, Childrens, Nature, Animals, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published March 30, 2021

About the author

Birthed with the name of Denise Holly Ulinskas in 1944, Holly Hobbie first sold her distinctive artwork of the little cat-loving girl who carries herself in a rag dress and giant bonnet. It wasn’t until she married Douglas Hobbie in 1964 when she named her originally nameless character after her.
When the first images of the rag-clothed little girl came to the public’s consciousness, the character has been nothing but the most common design chosen to grace greeting cards. When the girl’s popularity started to soar high, that’s when people started to adopt the name “Holly Hobbie” in reference to the character’s creator.

Reviews

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adorable. I love Toot and Puddle but I do have a question about the naked pig in the second illustration (~page 4). Is it Opal with no clothes? Is it a random naked pig just gardening au natural, like you do? Please someone tell me.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for youngsters to resist Toot and Puddle, two piglets that have starred in previous books by this author/illustrator. Just like so many gardeners, the friends plant their garden in late Spring. With help from Cousin Opal, Puddle's relative, they carefully choose what they want in that growing space, and as is the case for all gardeners, they keep a watchful eye on the soil to see when everything will come up. But even after bits of green sprout, they know they will have to be patient while waiting for the plants to be harvested. But to their dismay, something has been nibbling at the lettuce and the spinach, which quickly dwindles after several nighttime raids. Even a fence fails to keep the thief away. The intruder seems to have ignored their KEEP OUT signs too so they decide to keep watch and catch the beast in the act of stealing their veggies. The text and illustrations effectively build the suspense as the animal is finally revealed. But it completely ignores the three friends and just keeps eating. After a few days have gone by, the pigs decide to plant more spinach just for the interloper because they've missed all the excitement of his presence in their garden. The story made me laugh, but as a former gardener, it would be hard to give up that yummy produce just to have some excitement in their lives. This will have high appeal for young readers.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, the premise of this story is that Toot and Puddle "are planting the dream garden they've always wanted."

Not for the first time when reviewing books in this series, I wonder:

* Since when do pigs (or children) do something they have dreamed about for a long-long time?
Real children dream, off and on, throughout their waking hours.

* "Always" is a pretty remote concept for kids. (Or, presumably, pigs.)

* Since when do pigs (or children) say, "I've always wanted" ANYTHING?

And toward the end:
*" There's nothing like eating vegetables from your own garden"?

Huh? Author, you're breaking the third wall in this fictional world:
Either a pig is a pseudo human child or else the pig is a pig. Neither would make this statement.
Realistically speaking, this statement would come from a HUMAN ADULT. Hello!

Also, I wonder, who is the audience supposed to be for this book? The adult reader, I suspect. Nothing about this book -- or others I've read in this series -- enters into the heart or understanding or inner world of a child. No place close!

But hey, readers who have no prob with these limitations in this book? Enjoy your FIVE STAR-rated book-style adaptation of a TV series.

For me? Unless marooned with a young reader on a desert island, I would NEVER choose to read books in this series.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Holly Hobbie illustrations are always darling and atmospheric, but this wasn't my favorite Toot & Puddle storyline. The piggies notice some goodies are going missing from their garden. When they investigate, they discover a porcupine is taking their spinach in the night. I was confused by the porcupine's reaction--like, in a world of talking animals, can the porcupine not communicate? Or is it a baby (but it seems fairly large)? I thought the conclusion of letting the porcupines take whatever from their garden, "kind" as it was, was rather bad conflict resolution.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate how angry Toot gets. But I also identify with Opal as she empathizes with 'it' and tries to see things from 'its' point of view. You who are my friends know that Another Point of View and empathy are very important to me... but I'm not sure I would have come up with the solution these friends did. Maybe not the very best T&P but one we'd all do well to read and learn from.

Btw, my mother decided to read it after seeing me do so and seeing my glow with joy, and she finds it charming, too.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the latest edition to the modern classic Toot & Puddle series, the boys and cousin Opal build a lovely garden. They quickly realize there's a problem, though-- something keeps eating the lettuce and spinach! They put their heads together to come up with ways to put a stop to the garden thief, but to no avail... looks like they'll have to camp out and catch the mysterious spinach-snatcher. Adorably sweet and humorous, much like Toot & Puddle's other other charming adventures.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly Hobbie returns to her favorite characters of Toot and Puddle to tell the story of a springtime garden which seems to be visited by an unwanted guest. Toot and Puddle notice the nightly disappearance of their planted lettuce and spinach plants creating a mystery about what is visiting the garden. They work together to solve the mystery and discover in the end that perhaps sharing their garden is more exciting than keeping guests out.

[Harriet Lynn Jacobson · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I loved the story (and Toot & Puddle are so cute as always), but this book creates a nexus of seeing different neighbors as intruders and thieves and a glorification of police. The story ultimately complicates these perspectives some what, which could lead to a good conversation with children. I wouldn't want to share this book without that conversation.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toot and Puddle and cousin Opal are growing their own garden but have an unwelcome guest. Fans of Peter Rabbit and garden lovers will enjoy this one. Watercolor illustrations depict a variety of emotions on the pigs' faces and tell the story well.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute pictures. Not sure picking a porcupine as the invader of the garden was a good choice. There are many more animals that are normal garden invaders that could have been used. Pictures are cute and narrative is interesting.

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable.

[Ron Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

More for nostalgia than anything else.

[Mindy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toot, Puddle, and their cousin Opal have to figure out who is nibbling things int heir garden and what to do about it. The illustrations are adorable.

[Ellie King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Toot and Puddle because they are such cute characters. This book tells the story of them starting a garden and eventually learning to share.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book with wonderful illustrations!

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book about gardening and animals eating your veggies. Positive ending. I just wish the illustrations were larger.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this.
It is just perfect, reflecting the trials, tribulations, and joys associated with having your very own vegetable garden.
This summer we have the best garden yet, but there are still uninvited guests having their fill in the after hours. Toot and Puddle get the struggle of this quite well.