We Go to the Park

STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Two globally acclaimed creators—author Stridsberg and illustrator Alemagna—join forces in this boundary-pushing picture book for older readers translated from Swedish. Positioning the park as a liminal space, the spare, poetic text and beautifully unsettling art explore its endless possibilities as children play and wander... As readers explore these surreal, dreamlike landscapes that contain both rich dark colors and bright, intense ones, they become immersed in text that can be interpreted as a meditation on childhood’s fleeting and changeable nature... Contemplative teens on the cusp of independence and adult readers nostalgic for the mysteries and wonders of their early years will linger and ponder. Wondrously strange and wonderfully evocative.” * Kirkus *
STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Taking a deep look into the emotional life of children, this thoughtful narrative uses spare, poetic language in a lyrical first-person perspective. Thickly layered illustrations further encourage an emotional response, as the vivid, sometimes jarring colors demand attention and add to the tone of instability. The narrator recognizes that the park, like life in general, … is a place of many possibilities, a situation that is both frightening and thrilling. This evocative picture book could connect with middle- or high-school readers and inspire them to consider their own pivot points, the places of security, and the events or people who helped them grow.” * Booklist *
STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Why do we go to the park, and what happens when we are there? Decorated poet Stridsberg carefully considers these questions in spare yet biting verse, in translation from the original Swedish. The poem captures the bittersweet overlap of the freeing joy found in outdoor exploration in an urban park with the burgeoning existential anxiety that comes of growing up, and the persistent need to cope with it in a meaningful, connected way. Alemagna’s deeply luminous and at times startling illustrations complement the tone of the poetry beautifully, adding layers of abstraction and interpretation without being at all condescending to the deceptively complex subject. Occasional empty white spreads give readers much room to develop their own imaginings as well.” * School Library Journal *

“We Go to the Park appears under the independent children’s publisher Enchanted Lion’s newish imprint, Unruly, ‘dedicated to making space for picture books created… for teen and adult readers.’ It’s a worthy aim… The book’s illustrations evoke the delight of unsupervised play, the jitters of new friendship and the weirdness of having ants crawl up your leg. Alemagna, who was born in Italy and lives in France, is one of the world’s great living illustrators, and she’s particularly sensitive to the experiences and inner lives of children… The format here is unconventional. In addition to wordless spreads and pages that mix text and illustration—layouts that will be familiar to most readers—the book contains many text-only spreads, which are less common in contemporary picture books. Sometimes the words on these spreads inform our view of the pictures that follow, and sometimes they change our understanding of illustrations we’ve already seen. This is a book that rewards careful attention and offers children considerable interpretive leeway. Park-goers—and picture book readers—know well the thrill of uncertainty and the joy of freedom. They will recognize We Go to the Park for what it is: a place to play.”

-- Mac Barnett * New York Times *
“The park offers refuge to the child who narrates this uninhibited prose poem... Evocative text, blots of color and streams of expressive line show children playing on fanciful structures, in meadows and clearings, their emotions—contentment, exasperation, joy—readable in their bodies.The park is a place of liberation and passion, the creators convey.” * Publishers Weekly *
“Not to be missed… This remarkable collaboration between two acclaimed creators—a Swedish novelist/playwright and an Italian artist—invites teens and adults to reminisce about and reconsider simple trips to the park through a surprising lens. The pairing of otherworldly paintings with brief, deceptively simple lines of text turns ordinary playgrounds, fields, and woods into landscapes of endless possibility.” -- Laura Simeon * Young Readers' Editor, Kirkus *

“Wondrous and also mysterious… With its breathless free verse, insistence on an immediate excursion, and dramatic refusal to leave, Stridesberg has managed to capture not only the narrator’s passion for their local park, but also give voice to our universal longing for the natural world… An elegant and unusual picture book that originally appeared in Swedish and has been smoothly translated.” —Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School (Boston, MA), Youth Services Book Review

-- Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School (Boston, MA) * Youth Services Book Review *