The Paradise Garden is a richly illustrated book ostensibly for younger readers… if you are going to measure by the limited amount of text and simple storyline. However the only character Peter is not a little boy: he looks more like Year Seven than Year Three. Moreover his story is actually about running away from home, and this is presented as a good, even vital thing for him to have done.
I would be much more comfortable giving this book to an older student (Year Seven and up) who either had a strong visual bent, or who needed a story with not too many words. Another great way the book could be used would be to support someone who was having an unhappy time: a book like this provides great cues for talking about unhappiness, and suggests by metaphor ways to cope.
The story follows Peter whose home and neighbourhood are noisy and upsetting due to arguments, and whose heart is lonely because his parents have split up. He tells his Mum he is going on holiday with his Dad, but actually goes and camps out in botanical garden in the middle of the city. Here he finds a time of respite and healing. He eventually goes back home determined to take some of the garden with him so that he can find peace at home.
The outstanding feature of the book is the intricate and intriguing illustrations. Each page is filled with detail, factual and fantastic. As Peter is walking home through the bare winter trees, a family of hedgehogs is trailing him through the grass, but at the same time on a branch that frames the page, a tiny wooden house has been built with smoke pouring out of the chimney, and a toy biplane about the size of a grain of rice is revealed trapped in one of the trees.
This book will satisfy someone who loves to pore over pages delving into tiny detail in illustrations… and at the same time is a poignant reminder of the pain some children carry inside themselves.
Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre
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