Walk in the Park

by Anthony Browne

This Book is Brand new international softcover edition delivered within 7-12 working days via UPS/USPS/DHL and FEDEX.(FOR SALE ONLY U.S. & U.K.)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Fiction, Animals, Family, Dogs

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Anthony Browne, a Hans Christian Andersen Medalist, is the author-illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Silly Billy and Little Beauty. He lives in Kent, England.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[بثينة العيسى · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, brilliant in capturing shadow stories, and in creating real tension under the surface of simple naive words.

As always, brilliant.

[itselv]

إحدى الجمل التي أثرت فيَّ كانت عندما وصف الراوي بهجة الطفلين بأن ”وكأنَّ العالم بأسره غارقٌ في السعادة“. ما أعذبها من عبارة، لكنني بقيتُ أتأملها بهمٍ عميق. متى كانت أخر مرة شعرت فيها وكأن العالم كله ينبض بالسعادة؟ أجرؤ على القول: ولا مرة. أفرح وأبتهج، ولله الحمد، ولكن فكرة أنَّ العالم أجمع يمكن أن يعيش هذا الشعور في آنٍ واحد تبدو لي شبه مستحيلة، وربما لا روح في الكون هذا غير روح الطفل النقية تستطيع الإيمان بذلك.
وهذا جزءٌ من رسالة الكاتب—فقط الأطفال يمكنهم أن يكونوا أحرارًا ليفكروا بالسعادة والحب دون أن ينشغلوا للحظة بمنطق البالغين الفارغ وحقائق العالم الموجعة.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smith and Smythe go to the park, each with a child and a dog. The dogs are first to befriend each other, chasing each other merrily through the park. The children are next to befriend each other, swinging together and then sharing a flower. But Smith and Smythe sit on the bench together, moving farther and farther apart on the seat, never talking.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reflection on social class and yet we're all the same

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that allows readers to move far beyond the print and delve into important topics such as friendship and difference. Children will love exploring the illustrations to find unusual scenes and can create their own stories inspired by what they see :)

[Rihab Hel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated with a sweet little story Maybe it talks about the social class but what I was most related to was ....
the free spirit and open heart that children (and dogs) have, there was a phrase where the author says " they all played in the bandstand the whole world seemed happy"
When we interact with life in such a spirit we will see that actually life will smile back at us

[Zoe Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A picture book showing how class differences are learnt through misconceptions. The dogs and children do not have prejudices about class.

[Emma Hine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book about how children (and dogs!) do not recognise differences in class or wealth when they are playing together, even though the adults from different backgrounds will not even look at one another. I loved the slightly wacky illustrations which made the park seem strange and magical, such as parts of the park seeming to be in different seasons of the year on the same day.

Two families, one from a small terraced house in a less wealthy part of town, and one from a large detached house in a wealthy part of town, both set off to walk their dogs in the same park. The adults sit down on the same bench but do not acknowledge each other. First the two dogs start playing together, then the children start looking at each other and then start playing together as well. The text is quite simple but the illustrations have lots of different things for children to spot in the pictures. At the end of the story, the children have to return to their parents, the dogs are clipped back onto the leads, and the two families head home. But my favourite part is that the boy from the wealthy background gives the girl from the non-wealthy background a flower, and on the last page the text simply reads "And Smudge kept the flower." I think this is a beautiful symbol of friendship and how true friendship does not see class or wealth.

[Morley Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of unity and coming together is presented in this engaging story. The illustrations are in a cartoon style that appeals to readers as the lack of definite features for the main children allows the reader an easier time placing themselves in the children's perspectives. The spread across both pages without a frame encourages the reader to turn the page as the narration follows the mirroring stories of two dogs and two children coming together to play. Visually, the separation between the children and their respective adults is noticeable when sitting on the bench, but as the story progresses, they come closer together. Having the mirroring of the dogs from the separate families come together to play with the children coming together provides a message of overcoming differences and enjoying each others' company.

[Savannah Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Walk in the Park was another creative, interesting book by Anthony Browne. I love the way he hides things in each of his illustrations. The page where the dogs are running through the forest, you can see a face on the tree, when they're sitting on the bench you can see that the bench has feet. The modern illustrations that Browne adds to his story adds a new element of reading a picture book. It's fun to see pictures in the illustrations that may not be a part of the story, it's a bonus. The story and the illustrations are really good. I like the different characters that are in the story that interact with each other. The ending of the book is really sweet when it shows the last page with the flower.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book showed the relationship between kids and dogs as well with making new friends. The front cover of the book that I read was different from the one shown on her. The cover just had the two little kids on the front page with the little boy holding the flower, so I had no idea that there were going to be dogs at first. In the book there are multiple pages that are full bleed and go onto the next page. The illustrations were clear at some points, but were also confusing. For example, the background of the park was very dark and looked more as a scary forest instead of a park where kids go to play.

[Bridget Walswick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a strong depiction of social classes. Mr. Smith seemed entitled and pompous, while Mrs. symthe seemed more easygoing. As I was reading my niece was looking at the images and she thought it was weird to have a man walking a pig, Santa kicking a ball and a scuba man in a fountain and the way the trees all looked different. although it was a fun book to read because it was different there are many ways that it can be interpreted. the pictures were colorful and drew the eyes of the young child reading or listening. It was a book I have never heard of before so it took a second to find the voice I would use to read it.

[Alexis Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was a great one by Anthony Browne. It really showed how two kids with different backgrounds became friends and had the best time even though the adults kept there distance. It showed that No matter where you come from, kids have a mind of there own. I also really enjoyed how the pages bleed together. I think when pages bleed together you can fell more of the connection of the characters. you felt the joy and happiness form the children in the story. I really enjoyed this one.

[Gabriella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and I think understanding the differences and the importance of friendship and relationship is key. I liked how the pages were split down the seam of the book to distinguish one side was Mr. Smith and then on the other Mrs. Smythe. The way they faced each other throughout the book allowed me to create that understanding of how important their relationship was and how Smudge and Charles' relationship formed and we got to watch it grow as the book went on. As I read it, I felt like Anthony Browne touched on topics like the human connection and innocence.

[Madison Wyeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only did I enjoy this picturebook, but my son was obsessed with the unusual illustrations and open-ended storyline that allowed us to build our own stories. The basic story of friendship and human kindness is shown throughout and is obvious even with the little text allotted. These are the types of stories that teach our children real-world issues and the joy we should make out of our diversities.

[Amy Beckett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, such a simple but compelling storyline exploring a day in the park but with an underlying message about class difference- particularly the misconceptions of this. Such an important message to share with children in learning how we treat one another and act with another regardless of our background.

[Payton Gronsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Walk in the Park is a simple children's book ideal for young readers. It teaches readers about friendship and diversity. The illustrations are colorful and done in a way that they see to be freshly drawn. The illustrator utilizes lots of white space to draw focus on the people in the illustrations.

[Ren Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be underwhelming, but realistic. In reality, after two friends meet, their parents tell them its time to go home and you don't know whether or not you will see them again. But I couldn't find the purpose between the parallelism between the two families, and the story was centered around the parallelism which made the story underwhelming.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This simple yet beautifully and artistically put together was a joy to read. The story is simple yet shows a connection between not only the dogs of the story but also the children. The illustrations are beautiful in the colors and the simple and tasteful design of each of the pictures. The colors are vibrant and work well with one another.

[Sarah Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an alternative version of Voices in the Park. Written in the third person.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely tale with beautiful illustrations. Great for themes of friendship and exploring the idea of different types of families.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet little story about how we are no so different from each other.

[Marnie Devereux]

Open University AE300 Children's Literature set text.

[Cheryl]

Not in OKC, the books with that title are other books.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Their children and dogs become friends while Mr. Smith (who speaks with a Cockney accent), and Mrs. Smythe (who speaks with received pronunciation) refuse to look at each other. Funny, with Browne's signature humorous artwork, which reveals strange goings on in the park: a person walking a pig, Tarzan swinging by, Santa playing soccer, and other odd incidents.

[Ailsa Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

" A Walk In The Park" by Anthony Browne was a postmodern picture book looking at a day in the park of two dogs and two children from different lifestyles. Smudge and Albert were from the city and Charles and Victoria from a fancy house in the suburbs. The parents, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smythe, had not interacted with each other at all as their children and dogs played. It was fascinating to see that even though they were raised and live different lives they still played together and had lots of fun. Browne had also included many weird backgrounds throughout the pages including a pig, Santa Clause and a scuba diver. It was a wonderful book.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adoramos este livro! O Mundo de Anthony Browne é mágico e as ilustrações deixam muito á imaginação.
Duas casas, dois meninos, dois pais e dois cães…
Uma história maravilhosa onde as relações entre os animais e as crianças contrastam com as relações dos adultos.
Quanto mais os cães correm pelo parque e a Silvia e o Carlos se aproximam, mais os dois adultos se afastam.
O parque é mágico e cheio de lindos e mágicos pormenores! Uma banheira, um pai natal, um cão num carrinho de bebé, um mergulhador etc etc!!
Mágico e intemporal

[Lee Peckover · Rating 5 out of 5]

My earliest memory is of my parents taking me to a small bookshop. I was being shown a range of flash cards and I was told I could choose the set I liked most. I was somewhere around age 2. I remember how important these flash cards were. I remember this because I was told how important they were. I was told that they would teach me to be grown up. Without knowing it at the time, I guess my love of literature was about to begin.

By the time I started nursery, I could already read (more or less). I read everything I could get my hands on. I read shopping lists, product names, the local newspaper, and just about any book I found. But I had no real understanding of the words I was reading, it was a purely phonetic reading exercise. I liked the reactions I got when I read words and got them right, but I didn't exactly read stories and understand them.

All this changed on my first day at nursery. I don't remember anything of the day beyond the fact that everything was a bit big and scary, and that I found a copy of 'A Walk in the Park'. This immediately became my first ever favourite book. I became obsessed with it. Every day I went in to nursery, this was the first thing I went to. I read it all day, as many times as I could. I found the pictures hilarious. I could follow the story. I never got bored of it.

After much encouragement from myself, my parents bought me a copy of my own. I carried it everywhere. I read it almost constantly. I read it until the cover fell off and the pages were taped together. It is with this in mind, that I can only possibly give this book 5 stars. I think I moved on from this book around the time I started school but it had clearly made an impression on me.

This year, I bought a copy of this very same book. I read it to my year 1 class. They loved it. It has aged, there's no getting away from that, but the pictures are still hilarious to children, the story is still easy to follow. The book can be adapted easily as a 'Talk for Writing' text and to help children write their own sentences. I now have a class of children who love the book just like I did all those years ago. Maybe one day they'll grow up and give it 5 stars too.

[Lana Clifton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this book must be the best kept secret on good reads. I am shocked that there is not book cover or other reviews available.

Anthony Brown was already one of my most favorite children's author and illustrator simply because I have a thing for surrealistic monkeys. Although I have many of Brown's other books, this was a new find for me. My social studies methods instructor introduced this book for teaching multiple perspectives. This text takes two child-like monkey's (a girl and a boy) to the park with their parents. Brown tells their 'walk in the park' through four different perspectives-- the boy, the girl, and the parent of each. Although the theme centers around friendship, do not stop there. This book gives teachers ample opportunity to sharpen student's critical thinking skills with creativity and imagination. I am very glad our professor introduced this book in a social studies context. I can see a mini-lesson using this book-- connecting different perspectives in history and current events.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is now a lovely period piece which has dated a little since it came out in the 70s. The stereotypical depiction of the two families, posh Mum with her fox stole and working class Dad with his cloth cap jarred a little, especially in combination with the well-behaved posh dog and the straining at the leash working class dog (probably these days he'd be a staffie) Meanwhile the long hairstyles and white legged trousers of the boy and the girl were more endearingly 70s.

However, it was still a lovely story of dogs and children being happily oblivious to all these markers and playing together, set in Anthony Browne's surreal world with Tarzan swinging through the trees in the background, Robin Hood getting in some target practice and bananas popping out of chimneys.

The ending is just perfect.