Meet a nervous woodchuck, a misbehaving squirrel, a playful bunny, a mouse who will not stay out of the house and several other backyard animals. Imagine sitting outside watching the birds and animals play on a lazy, breezy, sunny afternoon. That's what the author and illustrator Thistle did and came up with these delightful true tales of animals in the backyard. Under the Garden Gate is a collection of ten original stories with colored pencil illustrations inspired by the amusing antics of nineteen little creatures who visited Thistle's yard, under the garden gate. The cover illustration is of Samantha, a feral cat who had kittens under Thistle's front porch. A real-life picture of Samantha, in Thistle's house, is on the back. Red, in the poem "Red's Tale", got his name for the color marker used to distinguish him from the other mice in the yard.These delightful poems are perfect for children and anyone with a love for animals and nature. They make wonderful bedtime treats, helping to spark the readers' imagination of visitors to their own backyard.". . . The verses scan well, mostly fitting into a standard scansion and using common rhymes, easily understandable for emergent readers. Some vocabulary words (including louse, magnolia, and sauntered) may help readers stretch without ever losing sight of the subject of the poem. . . ." - Kirkus Reviews Find Thistle on the web at underthegardengate.com and Instagram - underthegardengate. Hear the poems read by Thistle and see real-life videos of the animals in her backyard.