As an adult, I was charmed by this slightly surrealistic book, though my five year old could take it or leave it alone. Probably belongs in the same category as The Tub Grandfather (not having the existential terror of The Tub People for kids). Would make an excellent video game similar to Mushroom Men, but as a book, it's best for adults reminiscing about their childhood dreams of playing in the garden. There's a certain flavor of Miss Suzy, Rumer Godden The Doll's House and their ilk about the story, so if you grew up in minature worlds of Scholastic picture books and little Golden books, this might be for you.

An old woman is ill and her garden is in peril. The doodlebugs want to help her. It has been said that on a moonlit night, one can climb to the highest branch of the highest tree and call to the Leaf Men for help. After all, the garden is a place of miracles where anything can happen.

The brave good bugs march off to save the garden. First, they must fight the evil Spider Queen before summoning the Leaf Men to save the day... But what about the mystery of the Long-Lost Toy? Here is ancient elfin magic, epic adventure, and a bugle salute to the power of memory, loyalty and love as resounding as Robin Hood's call to his Merry Men!

When the old lady who cares for their garden home becomes ill, lost in the dreams of the past, a group of brave good bugs, advised by a mysterious lost toy, set out on an epic quest to find the fabled Leaf Men, and ask for their aid. Climbing to the very top of the highest tree, a troupe of doodlebugs brave storms and confront a threatening Spider Queen, eventually finding that their perseverance is rewarded, when the elfin Leaf Men do indeed appear, once called. All is set to rights again in the neglected garden, but to aid the old lady, it is found that the lost toy must once again play a part...

An engaging work of picture-book fantasy, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs is one of a number of William Joyce titles - others include The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and A Day with Wilbur Robinson - that is also an animated film. In this case, the film based upon the book is apparently entitled Epic - I'll have to see if I can track it down. Leaving that aside, this was an entertaining fairy-tale style adventure, one that, with its figure of an old woman asleep as magic transpires in her garden, reminded me a bit of Philippa Pearce's classic children's fantasy novel, Tom's Midnight Garden. It was a welcome echo, given my love for Pearce's book. The artwork here, done in oil paint, was gorgeous, with an appealing vintage feeling that works very well with the story. All in all, a charming little picture-book adventure, one I would recommend to William Joyce fans, and to anyone looking for children's fantasy for the younger picture-book set. ( )

I love the world William Joyce puts his readers in. The garden is in trouble when it's owner falls ill and is unable to take care of it. The brave, good bugs, under the direction of the mysterious toy, search for the Leaf Men who are known to help nature when in need. William Joyce appeals to kids' desires of a good vs. evil and creates this antagonist spider queen and these ant goblins. In conclusion, the Leaf Men do come and the truth about the toy is unveiled. It is such a cute story and really lets the imagination run. ( )

A little bit like the movie Toy Story, I guess. The Leaf Men themselves look like ERB's Martian heroes, to my imagination. Fans of [b:Jumanji|525995|Jumanji|Chris Van Allsburg|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348202802s/525995.jpg|428054] and others by [a:Chris Van Allsburg|9685|Chris Van Allsburg|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1264399536p2/9685.jpg] would probably like this more than I did.

But I couldn't get past a few things. For example, the fact that the garden was dying because the old woman couldn't water it, and the children were worried. The children should have watered it! And the fact that the spider is evil yet again, when the real science is that they are wonderful. And the weird way the humans' faces are drawn just bothers me. And of course, where are the leaf women? ( )