Time to Go to the Park

Time to Go to the Park

Emma Bowd

Leila Rudge

HarperCollins, 2026

34pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

 9781460767245

Tick-tock, tick-tock, breakfast is done.

Time to go out. Let’s have some fun!

And so the family sets out for the park to indulge in a day of fun-filled activity that many young readers are going to recognise and relate to – swishing to the sky on the swing, playing in the sandpit, and scooting and skating around the paths, although Grandpa on a skateboard could be a bit precarious.   It’s a day of joy and happiness as Grandpa, mum and the little one make new friends and memories as together, they just enjoy the fresh air and exercise that is so readily available for free.

In the middle of our little rural town is a vast park (one of several) with a playground with all the traditional activities like swings, slides, monkey bars and balance beams and there is always some little one shrieking with delight as they challenge themselves and help each other conquer the obstacles. Not only that, the park is also the break point for many of the coaches bringing students to the snowfields for school excursions and it is common to see even teenagers taking themselves back to the joys of childhood as they pass the time on the swings and hang from the monkey bars. 

Together, author and illustrator have captured the sheer pleasure of unrestrained physical activity outdoors that is such a critical part of childhood development but which experts see as declining as screens become more prevalent. “In the last two decades, physicians have seen children increasingly struggle with the basic aspects of movement: coordination, balance and agility. It stems from a loss in neuromuscular control, the communication loop between the brain and muscles.” Indeed, in some schools, recess and outdoor activity has been almost replaced in the quest for greater academic “success” depriving children of that movement that is “essential for kids’ academic success and mental, physical, social and emotional growth.”

So perhaps this charming book will be a reminder to teachers and parents alike to recharge with a day in the park.

The park was always the best part on the long car ride to Grandma’s…