The Park in the Dark - Softcover

Waddell, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0744594081 ISBN 13: 9780744594089

Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

A hugely endearing picture book from the makers of the Big Bear and Little Bear series. When the sun goes down and the moon comes up, the toy monkey and his friends, Loopy the elephant and Little Gee the dog, creep softly out of the bedroom, down the stairs and through the dark hall on their way to the deserted park. The park's an exciting place to be after dark, though a little bit scary - especially when the Thing (a night train) hurtles out of the darkness, seeming to chase them. Then the three friends run all the way home and jump back into bed, safe and sound once more. Now a classic story, The Park in the Dark won the 1989 Kurt Maschler Award and has now been reissued to appeal to a new generation of young children.

About this title

About the Author:

Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth have worked together on a number of picture books: Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? (Winner of the 1988 Smarties Book Prize and the Kate Greenaway Medal); Let's Go Home, Little Bear; You and Me, Little Bear; Well Done, Little Bear; We Love Them; Sam Vole and His Brothers; and Tom Rabbit. Martin Waddell won the Smarties Book Prize a second time for Farmer Duck and Barbara Firth was shortlisted for the same award for A Song for Little Toad.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- A picture book told in rhyme about the adventures of three stuffed animals. The narrator, a large toy orangutan, is joined by a floppy-eared elephant and a small spotted dog. Together, "me and Loopy and Little Gee" leave their sleeping, human owner for the park. While swinging and sliding, they are interrupted by a THING which sends them scurrying home, "where we ought to be." The illustrations--double-spread, frameless beauties in soft watercolors--communicate the friendship of the animals during their nighttime escapade. The language, while evocative and poetic, could be confusing to children who may not understand ruined mills and "withers that wobble." Children will recognize the depth of the friendship shared by the toy animals, and the protective stance of the largest creature for the smallest. The book succeeds primarily because of its illustrations. It offers a chance to share in the shadows cast in the city by bright moonlight. It's a good choice to share with a fair-sized group of kindergarteners or first graders, and a nice addition to nighttime theme books such as Rice's Goodnight, Goodnight (Greenwillow, 1980) and Memling's What's in the Dark? (Parents, 1971; o.p.) --Reva Pitch Margolis, Norwood School, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0744594081
• ISBN 13: 9780744594089
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32