The Paradise Garden

by Colin Thompson

From Colin Thompson, whose work has been described by The New York Times as "unusually provocative and rewarding," comes a lush journey into the soul of a young city boy who finds peace amidst the chaos around him.  The noise of blaring radios, honking horns, fighting neighbors, crying babies, and his own shouting mother are driving Peter crazy.  His salvation appears in the form of a fabulous park in the west of the city where he finds shelter from the storm in his mind and a refuge for his weary senses. Thompson's intricate art is filled with hidden surprises, begging the reader to look again and again, holding forth the promise of a new reward each time.  Fans of Thompson's previous pictorial fantasies (Looking for Atlantis, The Paper Bag Prince) will welcome his latest, and new readers will thrill at the opulence and wisdom of this stunning visual feast.  

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Since he started writing and illustrating children's books in 1990, Colin Thompson has had more than 50 books published. He has received several awards, including an Aurealis Award for the novel HOW TO LIVE FOREVER and the CBC Picture Book of the Year in 2006 for THE SHORT AND INCREDIBLY HAPPY LIFE OF RILEY. He has been shortlisted for many other awards, including the Astrid Lindgren Award - the most prestigious children's literature prize in the world.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Colin lives in Bellingen, Australia. His books with Random House Australia include HOW TO LIVE FOREVER, numerous picture books, THE FLOODS series, THE DRAGONS series, THE BIG LITTLE BOOK OF HAPPY SADNESS picture book, which has been shortlisted for the 2009 Children’s Book Council Award for Best Picture Book, and FREE TO A GOOD HOME.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My year 3 class is studying Colin Thompson for book week
He will be our visiting author in two days time so we are reading many of his books. This is my class's review of this book.

This book is about a young boy named Peter who is annoyed by all the noise around him - arguing, shouting, name calling, and the sounds of the city. He desperately wants to find peace, quiet and calmness. He goes to a garden which is his idea of paradise and he learns how to take time for himself and be calm. By the end of the story he realises that he can find peace where ever he goes.

The detailed pictures in this book are interesting. Colin Thompson is awesome at drawing. We love how there are lots of hidden things in his pictures. We especially liked looking for the dog with the yellow background on most pages (the dog is in lots of Colin Thompson books).

This book teaches children how they can find calmness and happiness even when they feel like everything going on around them is crazy.

Written by Year 3C

[Emily Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Paradise Garden by Colin Thompson is a fantasy picture book about a boy who attempts to escape his home and city life by living in a giant garden. The garden is a bit magical and provides all the necessities he needs to survive but also provides many fantastical situations such as swimming with giant fish and finding curious objects like a golden ring.

This would be a great book to use in an elementary or middle school classroom to practice writing descriptive writing. The drawings have so many details that students could select a page to describe in great depth. This book could also lead to students writing stories about their own dream world. The stories could be written at any time of the year, but they could especially be written at the beginning of the school year as a “getting to know you activity”. Students could present both their writing and an illustration they draw as a way to introduce what they love most through their garden to tell a little about themselves.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit, I am really surprised by the reactions of my niece and nephew to this book. I really thought that they wouldn't get it, and therefore wouldn't like it. I was totally wrong on both counts.

First of all, the kids got this book, and the reasons for Peter's loneliness and sadness. Although my niece and nephew were not abused as it is implied that Peter is, like Peter they are children of divorced parents. They related to Peter and his family situation, and I think that they understood Peter's need to escape and decompress, his need to be somewhere he considered safe and perfect, much better than I did. They were both completely pulled into this story--mesmerized by it and lost in it.

The fantastic (and fantastical) illustrations also pulled the kids in, making them explore the wonders of Peter's garden right along with him. The kids also seemed pleased with the ending of the book, my nephew even stated, "that's good. Now Peter can go in his garden whenever he wants to." Both kids were enthusiastic in their praise of this story.

For me the magic of this story was reflected in my niece and nephew. The story was complex, full of beauty and ugliness, and it was happy and heartbroken all at the same time. This story showed me my niece and nephew, and showed me their complexity, too. Kids are deep little things, and this story reminded me of that.

[Jay Bushara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moody and ripe and meticulously imagined: there's just as much going on in the margins and shadows and crevices of the Paradise Garden as there ever was back in the city. But no shouting. In the end, this is a brave and ambitious accounting of one boy's efforts to find some peace away from - and finally on top of - his bickering, dysfunctional family, but whatever your reasons for visiting, you could lose yourself here. Panoramic and completely distracting.

[Bree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Notes:
very busy artwork may appeal to many but not our fave
story deals with divorce and escape from life stresses
an odd book overall

[Luisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Garden
By Colin Thompson
Reviewed by Luisa Daniel

The Paradise Garden is a story about a boy who wanted to get away from all of the noise of the city, neighbors yelling, and family yelling. He found his quiet place, a place away from all the noise and the crazy life around him. That place was the paradise garden. One day he decided he was going to live there, lied to his mom saying he is going on vacation with his dad. Mom did not bother to call his father, she let him go. He set up his little getaway in the garden and relaxed and got to know his surroundings. He lived off of the things around him like bananas. Soon summer started to turn into fall and he thought it was time to go home, he took seeds from the garden and headed home. Getting back home everything was the same, the noise of the city, neighbors yelling, and family yelling, but with the seed he brought back he planted his on garden at home.

This book by Colin Thompson has a lot of pictures and art throughout the book. Very detailed and lots of colors. The artwork is bordered but not much white space showing on the pages. Each page filled with details of his imagination in the garden. Even though the pictures are bordered the border around the main image has another image in the border.

This book is very picture detailed and you can tell what the story is saying without the words. There is so much detail in the artwork that every little thing stands out and is noticed. The little boy felt overwhelmed by the crazy life going on around him and wanted a way to get away from it. With living in the garden he got to be himself, not being yelled at everyday, being able to do what he wants to do.

Overall I really liked this story and I believe that children should read this book. It is something that everyone might face in their own way, maybe not run away from home but find your silent place that will keep you sane.

Goodreads Rating:5 stars

[Isabel Rosales]

The story follows the life and adventures of a young boy named Peter. His life had been bad, his parents being divorced, him being yelled at all the time, and living in a cramped and loud building. His adventures start out with him finding a garden he thinks of as paradise, running away for a short while to be able to finally live with some peace at mind. He practically lived in the garden as is very independent for a young boy, doing his laundry in the pond, buying food, and over all just enjoying his time before he decides to go back home. But his sadness grows as he looks into one of the houses by the garden and sees a happy family with their pets, something he couldn’t even have, deciding that his loneliness was enough to send him home. This story is very motivational to young children or honestly any age group who has been through hardships they must face alone, but must find it in themselves to discover something that helps them move on or just calms them down to be able to relax and make happy memories just as Peter did; he found a garden where he felt at peace with the world, making happy memories, playing around in the trees, the water, and with the animals. Moral of the story, find something to bring you happiness and peace.

[Linsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Garden by Colin Thompson is a magical story with brilliant illustrations that captivate the reader from the start. Thompson plays on the reader's senses as he takes you along a whimsical journey that transports you to the pictures on each page. Paradise Garden is a happy story that allows you to get lost in the tale and close the book with a smile on your face. The images that fill the pages of this book have such great detail, that you notice something new each time you read the story. This is a text that can be used across grade levels with focus on different standards for the specific grade level such as looking at structure, theme, or analyzing the illustrations. As an elementary school teacher I would have my students design their own paradise garden and write a descriptive paragraph that makes the picture come alive through words. This is not only a book that I recommend, but one that I am adding to my class library.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colin Thompson has been an author that I have loved as a kid ever since I picked up one of his books back in my primary days. It’s funny how rereading it as an adult it made me realise that as a kid how fast we all wanted to be an adult.

This book talks about how Peter wanted to escape from his mundane life, to go somewhere peaceful and where there is no shouting. Somewhere far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But he later realises that eventually he needs to return to his regular life however he can create a spaces just for him where it will also feel like the time that he spent in the Secret Garden. This book teaches us how to slow down and find the time to do things for ourselves, to take care of what is important and that is ourselves.

[Shandy Htun · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are absolutely amazing. Every page has a border related to the illustrations on that page, as well as so many intricate details. There are many things to look at and discover on every page. Peter, the main character, escapes to this paradise garden because his family issues in the city make him feel lonely and upset. These are issues that many kids may experience as well, and by reading this book they can realize that they can escape to their own happy place (their imagination) to get away from it all.

[Cameron Melott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love that this is written for children. I feel as though a lot of the time picture books make the world seem far too perfect. Rarely are the main characters facing challenges on a realistic level that is relatable. I think that many children will understand this book & learn from it. I am sure that some parents may not approve of this reading for their children, as it shows a child trying to emotionally escape the chaos that is his home. However, children do have emotions & feelings & often need a means of "escape," just as adults do.

[Alexis Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Garden is a beautiful story written and illustrated by Colin Thompson. This picture book follows a young boy who finds a beautiful garden tucked away amongst the chaos. He finds himself making a life there, surrounded by plants, and soon finding himself become on with the garden. He was happy because he couldn’t get hurt while he was there. Any child could find comfort in wanting to find a place of their own where they can let their imagination run and free from judgment. This book allows children to know they aren’t alone.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These illustrations. I LOVE THEM. They are so detailed and miniature and fun and interesting. I love this story. I love the idea of living in a secluded garden in the middle of the city, able to hide out but then slip back in whenever. And like, yes, I want to live in a tiny house suspended on a bare branch. Eventually the boy brings part of the garden back home, because he misses his family. Sweet story.

[Jacqueline Ouldali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great visual way to think/talk about depression and anxiety through visualizing escape to a beautiful garden and how to cultivate such a place of peace inside ourselves.
I love Colin Thompson's books!

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it to my 5/6 class and it created lots of discussion- inferring, making connections, emotions, size of real life items in the illustrations, etc. Overall a sad story and one that my class pointed out was sad.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so subtly about divorce and it was quite evocative and Walden-esque. Took me completely by surprise. Absolutely gorgeous and stirring.

[Anna Shi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paradise Garden is about a boy who wants to escape from the noise of the city and finds a place of peace in a fabulous garden. He lives alone in the garden for a long period of time and enjoys the life in the nature. Finally, he finds in a corner of the garden a house in which lives a happy family which makes him feel a terrible sadness and a deep loneliness in his heart. When he comes back home, he plants all the seeds he collected in the garden in the yard behind his house. Although the noise still goes on day and night, he has his own paradise garden now and he knows that he would always have one wherever he goes.

The story is quite appealing and the illustrations leave me a deep impression. First of all, on the cover is a boy walking towards a door which leads to a beautiful world filled with trees and flowers. The arch seems to isolate the inside world from the outside world, which later we encounter in the book as the noisy city. Although the cover is illustrated in vertical, the pictures inside the book are all depicted in horizon. In addition, the first opening is illustrated in multiple colors with multiple objects arranging in no order, making it so chaotic and noisy. I am so impressed by the illustrator of his skills in making the noise visible. The sharp straight lines coming from people's mouths, trumpets and many other objects make readers see the noisy in the city in such a vivid way. Being the sharp contrast to the first opening depicting the noisy city, the second opening looks so simple and fresh with the main color of green. Rivers, trees, flowers and several ducks constitute the world which makes me feel relieved.

There are many other amazing illustrations providing viewers chances to be close to the natural world. By portraying the paradise garden, illustrator adopts the color of green as the main color of most of the pictures, which makes readers feel peace and natural.

[Kristi Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Peter who from a divorced family. Peter was so annoyed by the noises around him. The noise from his mother, or from the city. Peter was so desperate and he found a secret garden which located at the middle of the city. The garden was quiet and peaceful. Th garden has become the paradise to Peter. Peter decided to spend some times in the garden by himself and calm. Peter had good time while he was in the garden and he did things that he never done or never been allowed to do before such like knowing animals and pet them. At the end of the story Peter realized that he has to come back to where he comes from and leave the garden. He could not be alone like this in the garden forever. Peter used the seeds he collected from the garden planted his own paradise garden at his backyard and he realized that he could find peace wherever he goes.
I have to say this is a very well-thought story book. The story is very peaceful and very into depth. In this times, most people lives under all kind of pressure. Urban pollution, divorces, abused children… What is really important is how could we take overt these issues and find the real paradise to calm ourselves down. Colin used his book to expressed his thinking about this issue.
The pictures int he book are very detailed and colorful. The borders of the picture really give the feelings to the readers of watching Peter’s life through the window, which is really interesting. The illustrations are complicated and it is fun for me to looking for the location of Peter on some pages.
The cover of the book is the Peter heading to the garden, it leaves the spaces to readers to image what the garden would be. Since the garden is located within the tall brick wall, so that the back cover of the book is a brick wall background. The front pages are yellow just like the color of the bolder of each page.
Overall this is a rally good picture book which could appeal the social issue of pressures to children.

[Rachel Manak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking at the cover, this book is set up in a vertical orientation, but when you open the pages, you discover the illustrations take up both sides of the pages in a landscape orientation. The art style of this book is more on the cartoon side, but has some realistic qualities. It's like a realistic cartoon. The type face is the basic Times New Roman. It fits the book because the illustrations are so busy, that if you were to add a fancy font, there would be too much going on. The illustrations bleed onto both pages, but don't full bleed because there is a border. There are actually a lot of borders in the book. There is a border around the illustrations that goes with the illustrations, as well as a white border around that border. The text also has a border around it and a light colored background. By having the light colored background, the text stands out from the busy illustrations. When i first picked out this book, I found the cover very inviting. The bright colors and paradise garden theme excited me and I couldn't wait to read it. It was not disappointment. The illustrations of Peter's home were crowded with a lack of colorful colors. When Peter got to the paradise garden, the illustrations were whimsical, bright and playful. The main character is a young white boy. He is the only character we actually meet in the story.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found that I was really able to relate to it and I'm sure that many other people that read it were able to do the same. To summarize, this story is about a young boy that really just wants to escape the craziness of his family. he is able to find a garden that is so peaceful that he has really never been able to be around before. He is so used to being around his dysfunctional family, that the garden is like his getaway. While he is in the paradise garden, he sees a family that is very happy. It makes the little boy feel sad. When he returns home, he plants all of the seeds that he found behind his house. He is then able to have his own little garden always. I feel like I can relate to this not in a way to escape my family, but really just all the madness that goes on in life. You always need that one person, thing or place that you can turn to to make yourself feel a bit more sane.

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book; they were very colorful and fun to look at. The book is a portrait and it's cover is a motif. The illustrator of this book is the same as the author, Colin Thompson. I would definitely recommend for teachers to share this book with their students!

[Nicole Dylewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the pictures that were illustrated in this book. They were very colorful and the pages were big which made it more fun to read. By having a bigger book it there are more details in the pages rather than reading a small book. This story was about a little boy named Peter who needed to escape from his home and find a quiet state of mind to cope what is happening to his parents. His parents have decided to get a divorce and at a young age it is very difficult for a child to understand what that is and why there parents want to split up and not live together anymore. More often than not, parents are divorcing one another and if someone is going through a rough time with the situation, especially a child this book can help them become more familiar to it. To Peter, the garden allowed him to become at peace and to him was his "special place of happiness." He did not have to worry when he was there and became more relaxed. The moral of this story is great for children who are going through the same scenario as Peter.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

2nd- 4th

Imagine with a very noisy city there was a beautiful quit garden you go visit. This place takes you away from the stress of the city and brings to nature. Peat a young boy looks to get our of the city
and find his peace with in him self. No matter what when the day was done Peat was still able to go back to the city. Yet just as summer turns to Winter, so must Peter return home. But his Paradise garden goes with him. The illustrations and detail of this book take your breath away. Each page is filled with detail to explore. The details of each page allows the reader to learn more about the story beyond the words on the page.
With the length of details with in this stories illustration a student could learn how to tell a story with only pictures. eliminate the words to the story and have the students fill in with their own story.

[Vanessa Arredondo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is somewhat of an adventure. Many kids can relate to this story because it's about a boy that is tired of all the noise and chaos that is going on at home. Many kids have thought about running away but they do not know where. Here in the story the boy takes off to a garden where he lives peacefully. The illustrations take up the entire two pages and there is a lot to look not. I personally did not like that because there is way too much stuff that you do not where to concentrate.The text is in a white box that makes it stand out from the background. Some pages have more text than the others. There are borders around some of the pages and sometimes there is another picture inside a picture. This book is good at teaching a lesson to kids that there no place like home but you can make your home into something you love.

[Ashlie Covington]

The illustrations in this book were magnificent! So much color and detail, it was beautiful. The young boy who seemed to be having a hard time at home needed a place to get away to and be able to just relax and be free from reality, and came across a magical garden that blocked off the harsh realities of the real world. There he stayed for weeks just living peacefully with the animals and nature till the summer ended and autumn came and he had to return back to the "the real world". The book made me said a little thinking about how stressed and depressed this young boy seemed to be at such a young age that he had to run away from home. Even the ending didnt really say that his home life was fixed or things got better, which kind of made me sad. But overall the book was excellent and I really enjoyed the pictures.

[Clarcy]

"The Paradise Garden" is the story of a young boy named Peter who wants to escape the noise and chaos of life in the city. he sneak away to a garden within the city and spends several peaceful weeks there, enjoying the serenity and beauty of nature. when he becomes homesick, he returns, but brings with him seeds of the plants he loved, so that he would always have a part of the garden to return to.
The text in the story is minimal, and the vibrant illustrations add so much to the magic of the story. they show is elves and fairies and all kinds of fantastical things that aren't in the text. they complement each other nicely. this is a great story for kids who like to be outside and a explore nature, and get away from all the loud noises of city life.

[Jozsef Barna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated book, every page has so much details therefore it can be revisited endless times and the reader will still discover something new. It’s definitely fascinating for all age groups.
The story is of a boy who runs away from the noisy home environment and seeks peace and quiet for his tortured senses in the nearby park. There is a backstory of a dysfunctional family, loneliness, a hint that Peter was verbally/emotionally abused gives a serious edge to the story.
The reader is taken through the Paradise Garden (inspired by the Royal Botanical Gardens) and its beautiful settings. It's a great resource that has many equally standing themes to use as a beginning point for discussion with young children.

[Holly Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book has stunning pictures throughout so would appeal to younger children the theme of the story would be more understood by older children. This story follows a boy called Peter who finds the peace and tranquility that is absent from his life in a great garden. This suggests throughout the book that this could be Peter's imagination. The story also mentions the break up of Peter's parents and the feelings this gives him. A great story to inspire childrens imagination whilst also giving meaning and comfort to a child in a similar position.

[Brinli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite interesting and good, I really enjoyed it. I liked that fact that Peter has his own parallel universe he could escape to for an ultimate adventure. The way this book shows details and the fact the color with the universe of his is true in his mind, like we all want to imagine going away for an adventure. This book is really good to read to younger children to enjoy.

[Sarah Benson]

This book combines simple text with incredible, very detailed illustrations. Colin Thompson really captures the magic of the garden, and I got lost in each page. I found the story's conclusion to be bittersweet, but I appreciated the main character's solution that helped reconcile his return home.

[Shoaa Aljohani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Garden by Colin Thompson is story for young children and talking about a young boy who his name Peter.He wants to runaway from the crowed of the city and finds aquite place in open area.We find the illustration of this story completely used the green color to the most of the pictures.