I have an eight year old with a great vocabulary and high level of comprehension. It's difficult to find books that will entertain and challenge her that are also ag appropriate. I'm happy to say that The One Great Gnome is one that I can give to her that I know will be fun and suitable.
Eleven-year-old Sarah moves from New York city to the suburbs in Connecticut, leaving her friends and all she knows behind. The magic she discovers is unexpected and the perfect transition to her new life.
Simone Stevens is a great narrator for this book. Her voice and intonation are perfect for the script and her voices for each character were easy to follow.
Thank you to One Elm Books and NetGalley for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

The One Great Gnome, by Jeff Dinardo

Sarah wakes up in her new house in the Connecticut countryside. It’s all new around her.

Coming from New York City, this house looks like another world. She doesn’t know she will soon travel to another world. For real.

She goes out and explores the large garden behind the house. Inside a shed, she finds a garden gnome and decides to take him in her room.

‘It looks like you’re missing your sword,’ Sarah tells him. She runs down the shed, takes the sword and gives it back to the gnome.

That’s when the gnome comes to life and the adventure begins.

Review

The One Great Gnome is a beautiful children story. Entertaining and heart-warming.

Sarah undertakes a journey that reminds of Alice in Wonderland. She decides to open a door, falls into a void and finds herself surrounded by fantastic creatures. Some are kind, some are evil, some are mad.

With her good heart, Sarah defeats prejudices and mends conflicts. With the help of her fellow gnome and a few friends she makes on the way, she will risk her own life to save all gnomes and restore peace.

The audiobook

The recording is particularly good. Simone Stevens makes an excellent job at making characters come to life. Each gnome, each troll, each person has his or her own tone of voice. The narrator is lively and never monotonous.

Initially, I found odd the choice of introducing ambient sound here and there. A door that closed, a stick that breaks...

It was as if the audiobook was trying to be a radio drama without really committing to be one.

Yet, once you get over it, the sounds become part of the narrative. I still think the audiobook would have been just as good without them, but I see how a child might hang on them.

Sounds can multiply one’s imagination.

And The One Great Gnome does a very good job at igniting everyone’s imagination.

The One Great Gnome is a middle-grade fantasy featuring an eleven year old Sarah who finds herself struggling to settle in rural Connecticut after a life in NYC. While exploring her new house and its surroundings, she discovers a statue of an old garden gnome. Imagine her surprise when somehow, the garden gnome comes to life. Her, and our, adventures begin thereon. I will definitely be reading more by Jeff Dinardo! I listened to the audiobook version of this story. Narrated by Simone Stevens, the audio is just short of three hours long. Easy listening length! Stevens does a great job of narration. This story was a fun, entertaining listen as I worked outside in my yard.

I adored this book. It was super cute and a great audio read. As a gnome lover, I loved the gnome motif. But overall I loved the fairytal-like feeling it gave me.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced listener copy of the book. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

I don't know who is living the best life in this story - Sarah, a bookworm who disappears into a fantastical world of gnomes, elves, and trolls, or her parents. (One of my dreams is to be a writer or a librarian and have my own cozy library. Also, how lucky is Sarah to have a writer dad and a librarian mom? Anyway, I digress. That isn't the point of the story at all.)

The audiobook version of this middle grade novel is a delight to listen to. The narrator performs a wide range of voices, and there are sound-effects used throughout that add to the listening experience.

The story itself was charming, and the theme of "don't judge a book by it's cover" was used pretty heavily throughout. I think it'd be good for younger readers who would find her adventures exciting.

It just feels like it is missing some sort of magical spark where it doesn't resonate with me as much as other books in this genre and age level. I have read other middle grade books with magic and fantasy woven throughout, and there's something about them that just sticks to your ribs and warms your soul. This is lacking that feeling for me.

Thank You Netgalley for this book in exchange for my honest review. I finished this really adorable book in a day. This is about Sarah, a 11 year old girl who moves to a new city with her parents and is unhappy because of the move. I loved following Sarah on her little adventure.

Note: I received an ARC of this book via netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review of this audio book.

This book was thoroughly enjoyable. After a short introduction of the main character the reader is drawn into a world of gnomes and trolls and Sarah and her gnome sidekick have to prove their wits and bravery to save the gnome world from an evil creature.
The story starts and ends at Sarah's home and is an exciting read with a feel-good ending.

Age 6 and up.

Note on the audio production: The audio book uses sound effects throughout where appropriate. They work well except for the crackling fire which is added alongside the narration and makes it a little hard to understand. Narration is very well done.

This is an engaging fantasy book for elementary school kids. The characters are entertaining and relatable. The setting is magical and fun. I love the message of friendship, acceptance, trust, and teamwork.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

My first successful audiobook experience. I really have a problem of focusing on audiobooks and unfortunately, monotonous, unfamiliar sounds cannot find a place in my mind. But Simone Stevens, with her sweet voice, immediately managed to pull me into the book. I listened to this book in what I normally do by listening to podcasts. Normally I couldn't stop doing nothing, but I lay on my back and closed my eyes and listened to this book. That's why I thank Net Galley for this , and One Elm Books for making the book accessible, and Red Chair Press for opening its wings to the brand. Audio , e-book , hardcover and paperback of the book are on Amazon for those who want to supply the versions available. If you are interested in a world full of elves, gnomes and trolls, this book will give you a naive start.

Like Alice, Sarah encounters a passage into a fantasy world. There are no ingeniously placed symbols and references like Alice in Wonderland, which I admire, but there are some very nice life lessons. Dear Jeff Dinardo, who created a warm story with a few tiny touches. I really liked the way Sarah is portrayed in the introduction to the book. He was given the impression that he was also a social person by pairing him with a friend, and it was pointed out that books were the main gateway to the fantasy world by being given as a person who is familiar with books. Later it turns out to be a dream, of course, but I can also attribute this to the difficulty of children adapting after moving or migrating. His longing for his old life and his being detached from his advantageous world there without taking any ideas is difficult for children. I can also place my humble criticism here. We live in a world where children are underestimated. There is no right to speak. Their world is not taken seriously. They are stubbornly spoken in narrow words and kept away from the truth. Later, when they step into adulthood, they have extra problems in their adolescence. Because it seems that the picture of the world presented to them is an illusion. I was so overwhelmed that the children were deceived. Because when you grow up, nobody is kind to you as they were when you were a child. He doesn't flatter. We need to better prepare children for the world and allow or even force them to present their opinions in important decisions. People who are instilled with a sense of responsibility at a young age can progress in the real world without getting confused. This is how Sarah in this book may reflect the stress of moving. We may be reading the psychologically suppressed children's mind.

The fiction of the book is processed knot by knot. In order for it to evolve into a surprise at the end, there are spots and traces that do not attract much attention but you can easily find when you come back. You are not even affected by the main character being included in the equation too late. Because the feeds are very well done. For this reason, you can connect with him right away. "Where did that come from now?" you don't ask. This helps you easily adapt to the flow of emotions. You can clearly see who you love and what you will earn from whom. Of course, the character of Sarah has a great influence on this. A very good guide to the reader, Sarah. This little girl, who is not easily manipulated and manages to stay at the same distance to the characters at first, behaves as it should. He is questioning and always acting in harmony of logic-emotion. No wonder that. Because these are the features that should be in someone who spends so much time with books. Books create individuals who have a high level of understanding and comprehension and whose mind and emotion scales work well. This is exactly what we are looking for in the children's book.

It was also nice to see winking references to the memories that will make you smile in the book. Küçük Ev has an important place in my childhood both as a TV series and a book. Sarah's look through a photo frame and recalling Little House on the Prairie gave the reader a simple but functional place to smile. Then there is the sending of a rabbit hole reminiscent of Alice. Of course, the Three Musketeers reached us on a stage between the lines. You can think of touches like this as product placement. When children like this story, they can easily choose the next book with the help of these. So I think these are necessary.

I have to say that the drawings are also very good for those who will read from the printed or electronic versions. While writing this article, I have already looked at some parts from this version to remember.

Included in the story are the characteristics of the genre and characters spread throughout the story, which is what I liked the most in this book. In this way, they provide a more natural absorption and you think they are really the species you can reach from your backyard. Most notably, it was the introduction of the main character, the One Great Gnome. It is presented in such a natural way that you have no trouble considering that he is a respectable character who has lived there for a long time and has a wide story in the background. Of course, I will not write about who and how the Ogg is here, but the transformation of the story will make you smile. I also want to mention Mazy. This and the trolls show that what we think of others is sometimes really just the assumptions of others. He tells us that when determining the distance of friendship or hostility with someone, one should not heed the speciesism or gossip, and that such interactions should be clarified only after one-on-one contact. After all, you realize how much negative concepts such as hostility and grudge put a burden on the person. It is really unclear from whom the wisdom will come from.

My only criticism of the book will be not being able to see the fear of the child who is away from home. We see this very clearly in Alice. Until he got rid of the pool of tears, and perhaps even afterward, we can understand how strangers he was to that world, that he was very scared and had a hard time grasping his situation. The story continues for us as well, to find the way out of there, a little bit of curiosity. However, I could not find it in this book. Sarah agreed to be there in a flash and did not try to return. He did not find it odd too much and did not experience excessive fear of what happened to him. If these elements were also found, we would take a very deep dive into the story. I also think that the additions about return and time at the last minute are a very cheap reverse corner effort. He smirks a lot. It's a touch that is already too late.

Although there is little new, I really liked this story. It's completely a must-see book. I can give it to readers of all ages without fear. For example, I am thinking of reading this to my three-year-old nephew. He has yet to meet the gnomes, elves, and trolls. I think this book would be a very good start. Moreover, it also contributes to language learning. I think publishers should seek copyright for the Turkish version. From here, let me make a call to copyright staff, copyright agencies, and literary agents.

I may be a grown up but i loved this book. How I wish my children were still young enough to enjoy it. The narrator of the audiobook truly brought the characters to life. I'm hoping that one Christmas we will see this turned into a family film. A book of courage and friendship.
Sarah meets Vesper in her new home. Not your usual person. He's a Gnome. Sent from this home to find someone to help save his people from the trolls. Sarah follows her new friend to his land where on her travels she discovers what is happening to all the Gnomes and who is the evil person leading the trolls. Will she save the day?
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

When 11-year-old Sarah woke up in her family's new house in rural Connecticut, she had no idea she was about to follow a gnome into a magical world of gnomes, trolls, and an evil elf. Had she imagined just a normal day in the country, she would have been very wrong.

While exploring in the potting shed, she found a garden gnome and accidentally brought him back to life. Sarah, being the kind and gentle, but very brave girl she was, followed the gnome to his world to help save his people from the trolls.

Sarah's kindness and bravery are just what the gnomes need to save their way of life. This is such a sweet book with a good and strong heroine. I recommend this to any younger middle-grade reader.

Sweet tale with an Alice in Wonderland feel. In this case Sara goes into the gnome portal and encounters sprites, trolls, elves and of course, gnomes. Encountering The One Great Gnome was quite an adventure with a twist! Fun book.

This story was an absolute delight! I adored every bit of the audiobook. This cast of characters are ones I wouldn't mind seeing in a companion novel. Well done!

Sarah has recently moved to a small neighborhood in the countryside after her mother accepted a new job opportunity. As the new girl in a small community, she hasn't made any friends. And her shyness doesn't help at all.

One day while helping her father in the garden, she stumbles across a garden gnome and is fascinated by that item. What she didn't expect though, was for the gnome to come to life.

After the initial shock, the gnome, whose name is Vesper, tells her about his people, his life in the world of the gnomes and how he ended up to her world. He is upset when he realises that his family won't know whether he is dead or alive and decides that he should return immediately. And surprise surprise, Sarah ends up falling to his world after running after him.

Sarah looses Vesper but unlike what happens in her reality, it doesn't take long for her to meet new friends who are determined to help her.
One of the first creatures she meets down there, is a female gnome called Maisie. Maisie lives alone and is the only gnome who hasn't been captured by the trolls who have captured pretty much every other gnome in the land. She tells Sarah where she can find Vesper and gives her tips on how to stay safe from the trolls.

After finding Vesper again, she tells him about the fate that has most likely befallen his parents and they decide to embark on a mission to find them. Vesper also tells her more about the trolls and how they are gnomes' mortal enemies. He also speaks about the OGG, also known as the One Great Gnome, who is pretty much their saviour, since he taught the gnomes how to cook, how to haunt, how to build stuff etc etc.

After Vesper falls asleep, Sarah can't help but do some more exploring of this new world she has fallen into. She meets a little sprite whom she names Frida and immediately becomes friends with. But a little after that, she hears a sound coming from the woods, the sound of someone being in great pain.

She is surprised to see that what she heard was the voice of a troll that had been caught in one of the gnomes' traps. They are both scared of each other at first but Sarah can't leave without helping. She helps the troll out of the trap and to her surprise, finds out not only that they can talk, but that they are also capable of emotions and deathly afraid of gnomes whom they have been terrorised by. Before parting ways, Sarah gives her new friend a name, and she calls him Ralph.

In the morning, she lets Vesper know about her night adventures but their peace is disturbed when they spot Maisie being captured by the trolls.
They decide to follow them and to their surprise, they are led to an old castle inside a mountain. After exploring a little, they find a big cellar with hundreds of gnomes who have been turned to stone. But before turning them back to their original forms, they are caught red-handed by an evil elf.

The evil elf is after the gold he believes the gnomes possess (however they don't have any of that) and has recruited the trolls to help him, taking advantage of the rivalry between the two species. Vesper barely escapes being turned to stone, after the elf finds out that he is a great cook, so he is sent to the kitchen. Sarah on the other hand, is thrown in the prison.

There, she meets an elderly man who looks like a gnome but is way taller than them. And to her surprise, that 'gnome' hasn't been turned into stone after having his sword taken by the elf. (note: the gnomes in this story are turned to stone only when they lose their swords)
The man admits that he is actually a human, and it doesn't take long for Sarah to put two and two together and realise that this is the famous OGG (whom the gnomes idolise despite knowing that he is human).

Together, they come up with a plan to save the gnomes that have been turned into stone and fortunately for them, Vesper also comes up with the idea to put sleeping powder in the elf's soup. The elf falls asleep and the three heroes are taken where the other gnomes are by Ralph, who is also present in the castle and tricks the other trolls into letting the three characters into moving freely in the castle.

Little by little, they match the swords to their original owners and the gnomes come back to life, along with Vesper's parents who are thankful to Sarah for her help. Their joy is short-lived though because the elf wakes up and finds out what has been going on while he was asleep.

The elf orders his army of trolls to launch an attack towards the gnomes and they, being more scared of the elf than of the gnomes, do as his says.
For a time, the fight is even and there is no clear winner. To Sarah's surprise however, Frida, the little sprite from before, comes to the battle, bringing along millions of other little sprites. Their light and the sound of their wings are enough to drive the trolls back to their caves.

The gnomes seem to have win the fight but only minutes after rejoicing in their victory, Sarah is captured by the elf. He threatens to tease her to death with his electric sceptre if the gnomes don't give him their gold but Sarah, having had enough of him, throws him over her shoulder. He is then thrown into one of the portals that lead to human world, somewhere in the bottom of an ocean, thus solidifying their victory.

After that, a big feast takes place. But once the celebration is over, Sarah decides that it is time to return to her world. Before leaving, she proposes a peace treaty between the gnomes and the trolls and beseech Vesper to look after Ralph, which he promises to do.

What the gnomes don't see coming at all, is that the OGG also wishes to return to the human world, even for a little bit. They are obviously sad about it and stress over the fact that they won't have someone they can turn to when they need help. The OGG however replies that they won't be left alone, because Vesper will take care of them, hence becoming the second OGG.

After a long and emotional farewell, Sarah and the OGG return to the human world, where she happily finds out that in her world, she has been missing for only a couple of minutes. She introduces the OGG (who has a real human name but I cannot remember for the life of me) to her father and asks if he can stag for them. Her father replies that he indeed needs some help fixing the house they have moved into, along with its garden and he welcomes the new guest.

Here's some of my thoughts regarding this book.

I think the best way to describe this story, is to see it as what the movie Labyrinth would be like if the dwarves from The Lord of The Rings were the main characters. Oh, and if that crossover happened in a children's book.

It took me a while to warm up to this story because I wasn't sure about where the plot was gonna go, but it was a nice surprise.

I liked that the author actually put some thought into creating a fantasy story, a world and the basis for a magical system, along with creating an interesting story for kids.

The characters were likeable, the dialogue was cute, I liked the messages about friendship and team work that were spread throughout the story, along with the message of what negative prejudice can do. Also, the voices the narrator used for every character were funny and pretty distinct from each other, which I also appreciated (the voice she used for the elf was, hands down, the funnier.)

I think this was an interesting, cute and humorous story that kids who enjoy fantasy will like (and not only kids of course.) The audiobook was nice but any other form will do. Plus, I am sure the illustrations are very pretty.

P.S. The fact that Sarah could overpower the elf this whole time after she was captured and threatened with electrocution, but she just didn't, and only did it when she saw that the gnomes couldn't find another way to help her, was very funny to me. Although I think it was unintentional.

If you made it this far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :) :)

I received a free audiobook by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The One Great Gnome by Jeff Dinardo, Narrated by Simone Stevens, is a children's novel. Eleven-year-old Sarah moves with her family from New York City to rural Hadley, Connecticut. She's eager to explore her new home and meet new friends, but she never expected to befriend an old garden gnome. Join Sarah as she is drawn into a secret world beneath our feet. Sarah uses her instincts to calm old rivalries and help the underworld elves, gnomes, and more live in peace.

The One Great Gnome is a fun and entertaining adventure. It is fairly mild on the level of danger, and pretty high on the message of giving those that a different a chance. I thought that Sarah was a fairly well rounded character, if a little too trusting for me. She is sweet and thoughtful with a tiny dash of street smarts. He discovery on gnomes, their secrets, and the magical world so close to our own was nice. Some of the characters really captured my imagination, but others felt a little flat for me. Occasionally descriptions about size or something practical just felt off for me, it just did not feel like how a twelve year old might describe it, but that is simply my opinion. I did think that the reader did a good job with inflections, tone, and individual voices. The inclusion of sound effects was a nice touch- although I will admit they startled me once or twice since I was listening in the car and found myself wondering if my car or another car in traffic was making a sound. As a whole, I did enjoy the story and thought it was a fun tale. However, I just did not find myself excited by it or overly impressed. It was good, but not one that I need to add to my collection.

The One Great Gnome is a sweet bit of adventure with a nice lesson about looking past differences to forge friendship.

The One Great Gnome is a fun book for kids. It definitely feels like a combination of 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'The Wizard of Oz', but with GNOMES!

Also, if you enjoy listening to audiobooks, the audio for this story is done very well. The narrator has such a fun, young voice, but also excellently does the gruffer voices of Trolls and quite a variety of Gnomes.

For friends of garden gnomes and sprites. Read this story with your kids.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in return for an honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in an audiobook version in exchange for an honest review.
The One Great Gnome is a fast paced and amusing adventure/fantasy book aimed at middle graders. It has gnomes, trolls (misunderstood!) and one dastardly elf, and I highly recommend it for kids 8 – 11.
Eleven year old Sarah has moved to rural Connecticut from New York City with her family, and is trying to make the best of it. Exploring the yard of her new home on the first day, she finds a stone statue of a gnome in the garden shed, along with what appears to be a small sword. She takes it into the house with her and discovers that the sword fits into the statue’s scabbard - and immediately it begins to transform into a real gnome, Vesper, who had come to the upper world to get help … he doesn’t know how long ago. Vesper shows Sarah where the door is to the tunnel to the underworld, and next thing she knows she’s tumbled down to Vesper’s world, and together they’re off on an adventure to save the gnomes.
The gnomes are headed up by The OGG, or the One Great Gnome, who was the one who taught the gnomes things like speech, building, etc., and Sarah is curious, and would love to meet this mysterious gnome – especially when the “Statue of Liberty” in the underworld has a face that matches the woman in the picture she picked up in her own garden shed. Sarah also worries about getting home – how long has she been gone in the upper world? Are her parents frantic? Will she ever find her way back? Have a listen to this gem of an audiobook, complete with sound effects, to find out!

My children both loved this audiobook and I heard a lot of laughter while they listened to it. They told me all about it afterwards and it sounds like such a sweet and unique story. Hoping for more in this series :)

This is a fun adventure for Children, this audiobook wersion has sound effects and music to add to the experience.
Sarah an eleven year old girl moves from her home to a new house and completely new part of the country she lives in, she is a little sad because upheaval is always stressful, but she is determined to go out and make the most of her time and venture out and about and hopefully get a feel for this new place.

Sarah herself catapulted into a new world and adventure with, none olny but a garden gnome!

I liked Sarah, she is a lovely charecter for younger readers / listeners to connect and identifty with.

Even though i am not the target audience, did enjoy this venture into imagination and delight.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to listen.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an audiobook in exchange of an honest review.

What a charming story! It is a great addition to the fantasy genre for children. The characters and setting were engaging. I liked the overall conflict in the story and how it was resolved.

This was a great audiobook. The reader did a great job with each character and I also I really liked the additional sound effects that were included in the audiobook.