Parks

This nonfiction picture book effectively combines sparse text, vibrant and detailed artwork, and in-depth endnotes to create a welcome mat for young children to explore and learn about amazing parks from around the world. They will learn that parks offer numerous contrasts: big and small, quiet and loud, tidy and messy, sunny and snowy, and flying and floating. They will discover parks that twinkle and dazzle, parks in which they’ll hear barking or roaring, and parks that protect or honor. And they’ll encounter numerous parks in which children can play to their hearts’ content.

Where are these parks, and why are they unique? The book’s endnotes offer interesting tidbits about each park that is portrayed. For example, the Emdrup Junk Playground built outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1943, is an adventure playground, a place in which kids are encouraged to use recycled material and ordinary objects to build their own structures and games. The High Line in New York City is another unique park; it seems to fly since it is built on an abandoned elevated railroad where the old tracks are now home to a living ecosystem. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is part of the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The park stretches more than 132,806 square miles and is home to an amazingly rich biodiversity. The mission of the park is to protect the ecosystem from damage caused by people. The park offers a place for scientists and researchers to study marine biology, oceanography, and climate change.

Children are sure to return to this book again and again, as each illustration of a park is a visual delight filled with myriad fascinating details. Christian parents who enjoy this book with their kids will have an opportunity to talk about God’s creation and the gift of creativity that God has given his children, manifested in their inventiveness, stewardship, and whimsy.

(Abrams for Young Readers)