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.

This was a wonderful story!! Perfect children's book. There was mystery, and a little bit of action. The action was softened and is acceptable for readers 4-8. The plot was good, and easy to follow. The narrator was also very good. My only complaint is her voice for the girl in the beginning seemed to sound younger than the character's. The added sound effects were spot on, and brought another dimension to the story telling. I would recommend this book for kids as young as 4 and through 10. Looking forward to more books by this author!

From Trolls to Sprites, to Elves to Gnomes, this story brings a delightful dose of magic and adventure! I loved it! Children will be drawn into this book from the moment it begins. The lessons learned and adventure to be had will stay with readers long after closing the book. I highly recommend!
** thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

From audiobook version advanced through Netgalley.

This is a charming book that will introduce children into fantasy worlds of gnomes, trolls and elves. The story, in it's Alice in Wonderland-esque beginning, follows an 11 year old girl as she learns of a fantastical dimension beneath the floor of a garden shed. Through her learning of new races, kindness toward those in need and empathy for others, she helps the gnomes overthrow an oppressor and releases a second species fom oppression. It is not all her own devising, the gnomes have a few cunning plans that enable the positive outcome.

For the audiobook version, the narrator is very clear and very good at differentiating the characters. Additional, and subtle, sound effects enhance the performance. As the listener is not restricted by reading ability, I feel it would appeal to a wider range of children to a young as 7 years old.

As a starter in the world of fantasy, children could then consider longer pieces of fantasy by the likes of Terry Pratchett etc.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and One Elm Books for my audio book copy of The One Great Gnome by Jeff Dinardo Narrated by Simone Stevens in exchange for an honest review. It published January 17, 2021.
This was such a fun, family-friendly audiobook! The narration was very well done, and the sound effects were very neat, and well-placed. This was fast-paced, interesting and unique. Definitely add it to your middle-grade library!

This is a children’s mystical adventure story with Sarah as the main character.

I enjoyed joining her on her journey while she met new friends along the way.

The narrator was well chosen and brought the story to life.

I would definitely read other titles from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in an audiobook version in exchange for an honest review.

That was such an enchanting story to listen to and how much I enjoyed the narrating by Simone Stevens which was quite good.
A beautiful and magical adventure that we all dreamt about as kids or we still wish to open a door and then finding ourselves in another fantastic world where we can meet wonderful creatures such as gnomes or elves and becoming their friend or even their hero.

Moving from your old home in NYC to a new one in the rural Hadley, Connecticut leaving behind your best friend can not be an easy experience for the eleven years old Sarah. She found it so difficult to adjust in such new surroundings but everything changed after a chance meeting with a gnome named Vesper whom she will follow to his enchanted world where she will meet the One Great Gnome and live some captivating adventures.

An amazing middle grade book that you can not not like and find so much pleasure while reading. It is beautifully written with cute characters and a strong little heroine. It's about family, friendship, finding your courage and lessons to learn as it must be expected in such books.

A sweet young girl named Sarah, finds herself in a new home, far from what she is accustomed to- only to find an even more magical world is hers to explore. Full of magic, gnomes, fairies and trolls, Sarah takes a journey that's nearly as big as her heart.

I love that author Jeff Dinardo created this magical, mystical story that is underlined with plenty of real world truth and goodness. The story is engaging for children and adults alike. I found it to be the perfect length too.

In the audiobook version, the story-telling is especially poignant. I loved the voicing of the different characters and the use (but not overuse) of sound effects to draw you in to the story.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I LOVED the audiobook version of this story. There were sound effects, voices and music built into it. I don't usually see this level of effort in an audiobook unless it's Star Wars. It made me happy. I loved the different voices for the different characters. It's a short, fast paced adventure, but the sound effects make this novel fun. Totally recommend the audiobook version because of this.

Sarah moves into a new house - a real fixer upper - with her family. She finds a gnome who winds up being the real deal (as in he's really a gnome and he's really alive). Sarah winds up on an adventure to the underground world of gnomes, trolls and an evil elf with her new friend Vesper on a quest to find his family and find out where all the other gnomes have gone. The gnomes and trolls are sworn enemies, but can the enemy of the enemy become a temporary ally to vanish evil? Tune in to find out.

This novel swirls up through tunnels and kitchens and even dungeons in a quest to find and help the gnomes. Sarah seems to be key in helping restore balance to underground world. The OG and Vesper aide her on her quest. In the end, a little magic is returned to the above ground world.

A cute story for a middle grade child with many good lessons to be learned while imagining the world that could exist under our feet... if we can just find the right door!
Sarah, with the help of her new friend Vesper, was able to find that magical door to a world of gnomes. When she entered the door to start her adventure, I could see myself going along with her. As an adult that was fun, so a child would find it equally exciting!

The first children's book that I have reviewed. It was in audio format and just under 3 hours in length. The sound effects used with the narration added nicely to the story. My rating lost a star due to the narration... I felt that the voice of Vesper was wrong, his voice sounded more like a senior man then a gnome. The over use of "she said", "he said", "Sarah said", etc took away from the story. Maybe if I was reading the story it would not have stood out so much but listening to it made it very obvious.

Thanks to NetGalley and One Elm Books for the opportunity to listen to this wonderful children's story.

This was such a fun book to listen to. I listened to it with my kids and we all were entertained by the story.

I listened to this audiobook, aimed at primary school children, I would have thought, as the heroine is 11 years old. I thought the story was great for that age group, it was simple to follow, with enough fun , magic and mild peril to hold their interest.

I would have given it four stars where it not for some of the strange sound effects that there randomly added to the story, like a crackling fire for example. I thought this a little odd, as the whole skill of an audiobook is to transport you and to get you to use your own imagination, and I felt that these sound effects interrupted that chain of thought, and I found them rather intrusive.

The narration was very good however and kept the story flowing at the right pace. All in all a good and fun book for its target audience.

This was such a cute story! Sarah is a great adventurous character. It was a fun entertaining story! Vesper was a gnome that ended up being a good friend to Sarah. This was a awesome book! I listened to the audio of this book and the narrator was fantastic! Thank you to One Elm Books and Netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was provided the audiobook for review. It was wonderfully crafted for children using all of the old sound makers (a door closing, “landing with a thud”, running, etc.) 5 stars for that alone! The narrator also did a fantastic job with all of the characters. This book is just over 2.5 hours, a perfect length for elementary children. The story kept both my seven-year-old and myself engaged for over an hour each listen!

Such a creative story—a young girl living in a new home, discovers a mystical world below her garden shed. At times, it reminded me of the Lion/Witch/Wardrobe mixed with the The Wizard of Oz, with memorable, creative characters, teaching life lessons, and expressing love and friendship in many forms. I absolutely recommend the story to young readers (and parents!)

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the download/listen and ability to review!

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio ARC of One Great Gnome by Jeff Dinardo.
One Great Gnome is a short, easy-to-read story with memorable characters and a suspenseful plot. Eleven-year-old Sarah has moved to a new town and is missing her friends and her routine. Awaking a garden gnome sets up a series of events leading Sarah into a magical adventure. Jeff Dinardo keeps the story moving, adding unexpected details along the way. This book's audio includes sound effects that enhance the listening experience and add interest for younger listeners.

I have always been a big reader especially when I was a child, trips to the library filled me with delight and my Mum with dread, as she usually had to drag me out kicking and screaming. Thinking back to that time, the books I loved the most involved unlikely friendships, mythical creatures in magical lands and of course a happy ending. This book covers all those things and the narrator is delightful, it really brought the story to life.

We meet eleven year old Sarah who is very sad as she has recently moved from her old home in NYC, has left her friends behind and has to adjust to rural life in Connecticut. Settling is a struggle for her until exploring her new surroundings she ends up in a secret world, surrounded by gnomes and elves and the adventure begins.

This book is beautifully written and I would recommended to it to all children and even my adult friends who still believe in magic.

Thank you to Netgalley and One ELM Books for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

My rating scale
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Absolutely loved it! Gave me a warm fuzzy feeling or made me cry. And took me on an emotional rollercoaster.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Really liked it. Will read more by the author and other books in the series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - It was just okay, didn’t move me, but don’t feel like I wasted me time reading it either.
⭐️⭐️ - Didn’t like this book and probably won’t read other in the series.
⭐️ - I did not care for this book at all and feel like I wasted my time reading it

This audiobook with sound effects is a winner for young readers! Narrator Simone Steven’s does a bang up job with the voices of the characters, the pacing, and the tone.

Sarah moves with her parents from Manhattan to a small town in Connecticut. To her surprise and delight she meets a gnome in the garden shed. When she follows him through the portal, she discovers a world filled with trolls, an evil elf, a sprite, and missing gnomes. What’s a girl to do? Save the gnomes from the curse of course!

I would recommend this book to families going on a road trip with young elementary age children. It is not too scary with enough suspense and bits of humor. Moms, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa won’t hear anyone say, “Are we there yet?”

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.