This was a warm hug of a book - it was so nice to have a MG read that was pretty much issue free. It is all about family, friendship, gardening, the environment and adventures but in such a gentle way that it never feels preachy or didactic.
It reminds me so much of classic books where there is adventure and mild peril but that everyone gets home for tea and a hug before bed.
It made such a change from the fantasy books that dominate this age range.

I read this with my oldest granddaughter with the idea that she could use the book to organise activities for the younger ones over the Easter holidays. She is very fired up with the idea of reading the book together and then organising a similar set of clues / riddles around our own garden and the local parks. We both loved it !

I decided to start this over my first coffee of the day before getting to my chores. A few hours later and I've finished it, now all I want to do is plant herbs, cook and drink herbal teas!

Caspia and her parents are spending 11 weeks in Brooklyn over the Summer. On her first evening, she finds a bundle of letters containing clues to plants growing in the countries that the sender is travelling through.

Caspia spends her days tracking down the plants, growing seedlings and eating food cooked by her mum containing the plant and making wonderful friends along the way. It is absolutely enchanting.

I loved trying to work out the plant from the clues, picturing the spice shop, flower store and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens that featured in the book. I loved that Caspia's mum would try cooking with the various plants.... Some of which blew my mind.

This book is published soon, you should pre-order it now!

Thanks to DK and Netgalley for an e-arc, all opinions are my own.

This is a beautiful book. I think it is a really different way of looking at plants, and the healing that they can bring.

Cornelia Funke is a wordsmith, and makes you want to go on an adventure with her characters; in this book, to journey with Caspia as she solves the riddles from Minna and Rosalind's letters, and finds the right plants to match the answers. As she makes her discoveries, she becomes more settled and puts down roots in her holiday home, Brooklyn. She makes new friends, young and old, as she tries to solves the riddles, and her worlds collide. Her old friends from home become part of the search, along with Ado from the Botanical Garden and Jemila from Blooms & Books.

I love how she takes each plant home and tries to grow her own Green Kingdom in her Brooklyn flat.

I would recommend this to anyone, young and old.

This was a lovely little read, what with the puzzles and the appreciation of the plant kingdom.

There was also a great bit on how change can be powerful and enlightening and embracing it can encourage growth.

A book about family and friendship, very sweet.

I really enjoyed this story. I am not the target audience for it as i am in my 40's, but i love reading childrens books as they are focused on story and adventure.

This is the story of Caspia Turkel who has to spend 12 weeks of her summer vacation in Brooklyn as her father has been given a short term job there. They rent a small apartment and Caspia finds a bundle of 10 letters written 50 years prior between 2 sisters. Full of riddles that Caspia tries to solve it takes us on a sweet and charming tale through Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, local spice and flower shops, and is full of whimsy and charm.

A great read, full of magical possibility which is what great childrens books should be.

A really great read for any child interested in plant life! Very unusual, and I wasn't disappointed by this author who has written other great books.

If you love plants, New York, friendship and a feel-good story, then you will love this book.

I'm outside of the target audience for this book, but despite that I found it an interesting read (I even learnt a thing or two about plants!).

The Green Kingdom follows 12 year old Caspia as she spends the summer in Brooklyn. She discovers 10 letters in the house she is staying in. These letters are a series of riddles, each pertaining to a specific plant. The letters were sent between two sisters, one who is travelling with her father, and the other who lives in Brooklyn. Caspia immerses herself in each plant and in the city, making friends and putting down roots along the way.

I really enjoyed reading a book that not only had a great story, but also teaches you about the natural world, it would be great for any child who loves nature, and a great introduction to those who would like to learn. There was also a great emphasis on friendship, which I found very sweet.

The book had a very cute and cosy feel to it and each character was described and developed beautifully. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Cornelia Funke's works in the future.

Thank you to Cornelia Funke, Tammi Hartung, DK, and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations were gorgeous and the mixed media idea helped the flow of the book. I do agree, however, with another review that stated this book feels like one adults want children to read rather than one they actually want to read. I loved Inkheart as a kid and don’t think this book was anywhere near the same level. I also think this book reads much younger - I’d say Year 2 - Year 4.

The blurb for the Green Kingdom says it all, really. It’s a lovely story, with riddles about plants, and Caspia, transplanted from her home in Maine, sets out to find them, even in the urban jungle of Brooklyn.

I was fascinated by the riddles myself, and although there was usually one clue that sent me to the right answer, I learnt a lot about plants even I knew well. And I’ve been brought up to learn the alternative uses for common plants! I’m absolutely sure I would have loved this book as a junior, although I might not have appreciated the diversity and the wonder of Brooklyn Botanic Gardens when I was a kid, it absolutely rings true for now.

As always, Cornelia Funke writes with a little bit of intrigue and a lot of great characters and scenes. This does not have the fantasy that her other books I’ve read had, but that is all to the good. And the illustrations are wonderful, although tricky to piece together on a Kindle. This is a wonderful way for modern kids to learn about the plants that are right beneath their feet, or just around the corner. And I so wish the Books & Blooms store would open a branch near me!

The only thing is… I think there’s going to be a sequel. It stopped very suddenly.

This was a totally sweet little story with lots of feel goods and coziness! Caspia was dragged away from her friends for the summer when her family travels to Brooklyn for work (her dad) and many cooking classes (her mom) in preparation for writing a cookbook. Luckily Caspia finds a packet of letters that leads her on an adventure around the city, meeting new friends, and learning about cool plants! It has the right amount of sweetness with so many friendly people in flower and spice shops and at the botanical garden for Caspia to befriend. This book has a great message about finding friends and a place of belonging, no matter where you end up. And while Caspia is twelve (but almost thirteen), I think this story can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

So, yes I do recommend this book for a quick bite of goodness and you might learn a few facts about certain plants (and the illustrations are beautiful!) along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this sweet book!

This a delightful and cozy read. We follow our protagonist finding letters from two sisters with hints regarding different type of plants. While dreading spending her summer away, she follows these hints and meets new people on the way. This was amazing! I could not figure out most of the hints, but I loved spending time with this characters. The plants facts were super interesting as well! The letters kept the story flowing super well, alongside the characters that were lovely to read about. The backdrop of Brooklyn as a setting was super fun as well! If you’re looking for a lovely and heartwarming story, this one might be for you! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

When twelve year old Caspia is told she's spending the summer in Brooklyn she's devastated. Having to leave her friends and small town behind to spend 12 weeks in a city is not something she wanted to do. Until she finds a bundle of letters addressed to the previous occupant of the house they're staying in. Caspia sets out to solve the riddles in the letters discovering new plants and making new friends along the way and discovering that anywhere can feel like home if you put down new roots.

I'm not really the target audience for this book but I loved it. I enjoyed solving the riddles alongside Caspia and watching as she made a whole host of new friends along the way whilst also managing to include her old ones. This is definitely a book I'll be sharing with my children when they get a bit older. Highly recommend.

This has such a beautiful cover that I couldn't not mention it straight away!

I have heard of Cornelia Funke before, and I do have her Inkheart series on my wishlist, but this is the first of her books I am reading.

My digital version, unfortunately, didn't have any clear illustrations and so I cannot comment on Melissa's work, but if they're anything like the description written down, they're going to be beautiful. Cornelia has gone into so much detail about everything - the sounds of the city, the smells of the fumes mixing with the smells from the local spice shop, the sights of exotic trees - it's all so well done but not over the top. Children get bored easily and so it would be quite easy to go too heavy into the detail and lose their attention but I think it's a good balance. And - this is an assumption so please correct me if I'm wrong - but I believe Tammi is an expert on all things plants and so I imagine a good amount of the detail comes frrom her expertise.

This book is a love letter to nature, plants, flowers, trees, gardens etc. Which I loved. I don't think people, kids included, really realise the importance of the natural world. And I wonder if that's why Cornelia has set this book in a busy city, full of cars and fumes, only to have Caspia find a botanical garden, find letters about flowers, house her in a floral-decorated home. It really accentuates the importance of surrounding yourself in nature.

Caspia is our main character; this is her history and she's fabulous. As someone in their 30s, it can be hard to relate to a 12-year-old girl, but she's so well formed that she just leaps off the page. There are a number of other characters including:

- Her parents: Her father works in construction and we don't get to know him too well, and her mother is working on a cookbook, and she was just lovely. I really enjoyed reading about her culinary attempts.

- The local shopkeepers: We meet two in particular, the elderly lady who runs the spice shop (Mrs Wahid), and the young girl who runs the local flower/book shop (Jemila) with her aunt. They both play wonderful roles in this book and work really well to further Caspia's journey on.

- And then we have her friends: She has two friends from home (Laryssa and Ellie) who she worries will forget about her and so she tries to keep in touch. So we don't get to know them in too much detail but they're there for Caspia. And then she meets a young boy (Ado) whilst at the botanical gardens and whether it's a friendship or more, he was also a great way t help further Caspia's story.

I loved the story device of using these old letters; it adds an element of nostalgia to the book which was a nice touch and helped with it's whimsical natural feeling.

It was a quick read, read over a few hours. It reads so well, the words flow so well, and it brings a smile to your face. You can't be anything other than content and happy when reading it.

I received an early e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really heartwarming, sweet little book. I enjoyed Caspia's journey of self discovery and how she learned to appreciate plants and the Green Kingdom. The riddles were fun and I loved the illustrations. A really great middle-grade book :)

A gentle book with puzzles and lots of connections to plants. I was hoping for a little more from this - perhaps some excitement - so didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

Caspia complains about having to leave her rural home to spend the summer in New York, she'll miss her friends and hates the noise and crowds. Things begin to change when she finds an old bundle of letters sent from one sister who is travelling with her father to another who lives in their apartment in New York. The letters contain clues to identify plants, Caspia goes out into the city in search of the answers and finds friends along the way. its exciting to accompany her on her adventures as she finds out about plants and the community around her.

Really nice book. I liked Caspia and the letters were really interesting. I read Inkheart years ago.
I can imagine a child would enjoy this.
I has good characters and follows, puzzles to be solved.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher.

A wonderful book about secret letters / riddles for the main character to solve. I loved the botany / plant focus as well. Atmospheric, magical and an interesting read . I will recommend this to my students.

I have to confess that this is the first Cornelia Funke book that I have ever read. But I am sure that this is but the beginning of a long shopping and reading list of Cornelia Funke books.

It is a truly magical and heartwarming book. I love the way the riddles are part of the storyline and the reason behind the existence of the riddles is very valid, so the riddles do not appear to be a deliberate contrivance, a gimmick to get children engaged and to position the book in the market. The riddles are there for a reason and they help readers learn more about plants.