Rosie and the Secret of the Snogard
Available in English and as a German translation (Rosie und das Geheimnis der Snogard)
Briefly, please. What is this story about?
Set in a northern kingdom by the sea, Rosie and the Secret of the Snogard is a timeless story, whose rich storytelling will appeal to adults and children alike.
Timid and neglected Rosie comes to live with her uncle, King Edmar. In the castle's lower gardens she discovers a young gardening dragon called Fridolin, who has a great love for storytelling. They become friends. Unbeknown to either of them, Rosie's uncle is cursed. He has a year to break the spell or his life is forfeit; and no idea how to go about it...
As Rosie and Fridolin begin to awaken an old garden, the curse is drawing closer and they slowly begin to realise that Fridolin's dragon stories and Rosie's discoveries around the coast and castle, may all be connected to the kingdom's past, present and future.
Allow yourself to get swept up in the rough beauty of a coastal landscape.
Immerse yourself in a story of gardens, dragons, curses, friendship and countless cups of tea.
Where can I get a copy?
You can ask your library if they have a copy or you can buy or order your very own copy from one of the places below:
(In alphabetical order):
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble (US)
- Blackwell's
- Foyles
- Hatchards
- local independent bookshop
- Waterstone's
The list above is orientated more towards the UK. As the book is being distributed globally the above is extensive but certainly not complete.
If you are so lucky as to have one, please ask your local bookseller for help if you get stuck. They are a real asset when it comes to trying to obtain books!
(Please note that entering a bookshop is undertaken at a reader's (and their purse's) own peril and it is the reader's responsibility to judge for themselves how many books they may be tempted to buy when taking that risk. I speak from experience...)
How did the story come about?
Rosie and the Secret of the Snogard started life as a 'scribble'; the beginning of the story written down for my own amusement after gardening with a friend's small son.
We had been planting ranunculus - red, orange and yellow - with large flowerheads. We had even discovered a huge earthworm in one of the patio pots, which he held in his hands with an expression of wonder in his eyes before returning it to the soil. He liked princesses. I liked dragons and somehow - later - these things began to merge in my mind. The idea for a story began to emerge.
The kernel of a story about dragons formed; not just any old dragons but gardening dragons - renowned for their skill - and a horrid stuck-up princess, whose actions got the dragons expelled from the place they loved...
And then - years later - a young gardening dragon and a girl would meet. They'd become friends. Neither of them would know that there was a real history that separated them but somehow - through their friendship - balance would be restored. That seed lay dormant in my mind for a quite long time, until one day the question of 'What if...?' raised its head. It morphed - more pressingly - into: 'What if I tried to tell this story?'
The answer to 'What would happen if I tried?' can be found in the pages of the book that is now Rosie and the Secret of the Snogard.
© Copyright 2024-2025. All rights reserved. Designed by Eva for TRAIGH BAN
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.