Thanks to Windmill Books and NetGalley for this free copy in return for my honest opinion.
I have read this book twice, and just cannot quite make up my mind. The author is talented illustrator Katarina Macurova, and for me it is the illustrations that give this book its charm. Teddy, a bear is watering his garden and goes off and forgets to turn off the hose, which immediately causes such a flood that all sorts of sea creatures swim over to his now submerged garden. By nighttime the hose miraculously stops flooding the garden and soon thereafter it becomes a lush paradise for exotic animals. And there you go. Illustrations for me are 4****, but the story itself is a 1*. Previously published in Europe, this book just makes little sense to me as a story, but her illustrations are good enough to raise this to its 3*** rating.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First, I love the bright vibrant and details illustrations in this book.

Second, the storyline is very cute as well. Teddy the bear forgot to turn off the hose in his garden, and the water raised to a sea. There was turtles, manta rays, octopus and even a whale. When the water went away, a jungle took place.

Teddy has a mishap with the garden hose and now he is in the middle of a great flood. The flood turns into a discovery that you and your child will enjoy. It is a beautiful illustration of discovery.

A special thank you to Windmill Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Some stories stand out because of its simplicity - this is one of them. The idea of a hose left turned on flooding the garden will appeal to the little ones, especially the pages where the marine creatures roam (swim) the garden. The problem of flooding is also solved with ease which makes the plot easy to read. The book also has potential for participatory reading - for example, when the author asks us to count the number of tentacles. Overall, a perfect book for kindergarteners - I can imagine their happy faces when this book is read to them.

4.5 Stars
This is such a charming book! The illustrations need a special mention. The book is almost nothing without them. And they are so, so beautiful, vibrant, and life-like.
The story is simple and cute. Teddy waters his garden and forgets to turn off the hose. When he sees it again, he’s surprised to notice a sea flowing in the garden. He sees various aquatic animals and has loads of fun before getting tired and falling asleep. When he wakes up, the garden is again transformed into something else.
The book is perfect for little ones who like bright and illustrations with imaginative storylines.
Thank you, NetGalley and Windmill Books, for the ARC.

This is my first attempt at reviewing children's fiction and little did I realise that this was a picture book.
However, suffice it to say it is enough to enrapture any child and her imagination. Due to an unintended lapse by Teddy, a teddy bear (what or who else can Teddy be), in not turning off the hose, an entire garden is converted into a teeming, throbbing mass of aquatic life.

The art is exquisite and the curious and weird expressions on the creatures' faces undoubtedly induces a smile in the reader. I was cackling away myself at the entry of a blue whale. A blue whale! In the garden! At the back of one's house! Ridiculous, but fantastic

A very humorous and refreshing read

(Teddy and the Great Flood by Katarina Macurova is published by Windmill Books and will hit the bookshelves on the 15th of August 2021)

Thank You Net Galley for the Advance Reviewer Copy

This was absolutely adorable! It’s all about this little bear named Teddy who gets so caught up in making his apple pie that he forgets that he left his hose on. Overnight, a whole sea erupts in his garden!

This story is full of beautiful illustrations that are going to be such fun for kids. Each page had so many different animals and plants to discover!

This just brought me so much joy and I truly believe anyone who reads this will also feel happiness and a sense of feeling at home between these pages.

5/5⭐️

A big thank you to NetGalley and Windmill Books for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's book. This is a cute story, not realistic by any means. I am sure you will get questions from older kids-like why are salt water fish in the backyard? How did that happen? What about the regular animals are they ok? All this from forgetting to turn off the hose? But the graphics were colorful and fun. I liked it, and I think most kids would as well. 4 stars

A cute and funny tale about Teddy, who accidentally creates a Great Flood while trying to water his garden. I found this to be a cool and educational story about the many creatures you can find in the sea, especially when coupled with such vivid and beautiful illustrations. I did wish there was more to the story, however.

This is a storybook that can cater to a wider age group than what I previously assumed. The artwork and illustrations is so detailed and accurate that even older children can be entertained and start a discussion about animals etc.

I liked the story, it was simple, funny (sometimes even sarcastic) and just the right length with an open-ending. Teddy want's to water his garden after a draught but with the promise of apple pie he forgets to turn the hose off. The next day he needs a boat since his garden turned into an ocean with all the marine life present. I kind of missed some cute sharks though.

I really liked the artwork, it was very colorful and detail oriented for a children's storybook. I do not know what happened with pgs 6-7, it might be a placeholder because the artwork was off and did not fit in with the book at all. I also wasn't a fan of the split page graphics starting from page 26. I would have preferred those to be as before, one image per page. Another thing I had a tiny problem with was page 17, where it is asked how many tentacles the octopus has, yet from the artwork even an adult would have difficulties to tell the answer, so I would maybe rephrase that or make the artwork more readable for the targeted age.

All in all this was a very entertaining and funny story.

My rating is 4.5stars.

I received an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cute! The language is very simple for early readers, but the illustrations tell a wild and detailed tale about a flooded garden becoming a sea. There is so much to look at in each of the pictures and they could easily prompt many conversations.

I did have kids ask what happened to the land animals (and were they OK in the flood) and where the sea animals came from. These questions aren't addressed in the book, so just a heads up to be prepared if the kiddos ask about this.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Teddy the teddy bear forgets to turn his hose off after a long day's watering the garden, and wakes to find an ocean outside, all as a result of his hose – even if it is an ocean complete with giant turtles, manta rays, whales and more. A pretty decent absurdist book, that will entertain the young, even if not for as many times as a true classic would.

I don't know if I had read any book from the publishing team before but I'm quite impressed with the storybook.

The storybook reads like an animation. The water waves and the animals seem quite real which I feel is a huge contribution of the amazing illustrations. Kudos to the artist.

The story is quite simple. The ending gives so much joy seeing everything thriving and green!

Thank you, author and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

Teddy gets distracted watering his garden and things go awry! What a cute and clever little tale that has some fun twists you won't see coming.