Ah, the park on a sunny day, where one encounters an embarrassment of riches: fresh air, beautiful trees, colorful flowers, chirpy birds and wild animals. Also enjoying the scenery are other people, sometimes too many, who might speak too loudly, speed-skate on the walking paths or have barking dogs that scare away birds. How can every person and creature coexist while ensuring everyone’s happy and having fun?
Pamela Paul, author of It Simply Can’t Be Bedtime and Rectangle Time, explores that question in her delightful new picture book, The Path. Paul lives in New York City, so she knows what it’s like to be among lots of other people—and in the Central Park-esque public space depicted in her story, she amusingly imagines what might happen when everybody gets a bit grumpy about it.
Paul’s characters range from infant to senior, together forming a noisy, busy, kaleidoscopic swirl of vibrant life. The Path’s graphic novel format and Qin Leng’s upbeat, dynamic illustrations perfectly convey the look and feel of a bustling public park; plentiful thought and speech bubbles add rich humor and context. “Now, this is what I call a dog path! All the top dogs come here,” thinks a corgi as it excitedly sniffs at a friendly Great Dane. “Let’s just stay quiet now. Staaaaying quiet,” thinks a bird-watcher as he crouches to get a closer look at a great blue heron, and then exasperatedly exclaims aloud, “Argh! Not quiet,” as an infant’s cries send the heron flapping away.
The Path’s initial daisy chain of multispecies irritation is dramatically interrupted when an unusual sight brings every creature to an astonished halt, their sharp edges softened by an awe-inspiring shared experience. Everyone joins together to marvel, to learn, to check on one another—and look at that! The park becomes a friendlier, more harmonious place with a newly heightened appreciation of nature in this humorous and uplifting celebration of kindness, community and our glorious Earth.