Title: Things I See in the Park
Author: Suvi Naidoo
Illustrator: Devashish Verma
Publisher: Talking Cub, Speaking Tiger Books
Type: Board Book
Age: 1 – 3 years
During the first lockdown the child was only 6 months old and spending time indoors all day long was not a big thing. But sometime around the 10 month mark she realised that beyond the door lay a world that her father disappeared into each day and re-emerged from. She would bang at the door till I gave into her, overcame my fears and took her out.
Oh! The joy of discovering the park for the first time, the swing and slides, the birds and trees! From then onwards through multiple Covid waves and lockdowns we have been blessed to have access to parks. In fact, we were the odd pair that could be found in one even at 2-3 o’clock in the afternoon!
Cut to this super cute, highly relatable book for babies and toddlers. It looks at parks through the eyes of a little one seeing it for the first time. It features everything they will encounter in the park, from flowers and butterflies to Indian Grandmas sitting on the benches chatting away.
What I particularly liked was that the illustrations are not too busy which is perfect for the little ones. There’s ample scope for discussion on each page, and for the childoo’s imagination to fill in with their own experiences.
Nestled snugly in my lap while we read this book cover to cover twice, little Miss 2.5 year old pointed out how the butterflies are fluttering over flowers and how many different flowers there are in our park right now. The page with Grandmas chatting on benches had her in giggles as our apartment complex has some very fitness focused grannies. We never see them sitting around, they are always walking or exercising! And the page with the swing had her demanding where the slide is, because her various parks have always had an attached swing/slide set!
For the younger ones this book would draw their attention to the things they see around them (just as the title says!) while sparking discussions for toddlers like mine. It would be an adorable addition to any little kiddo’s first library!
Suvi Naidoo’s other board books can be found here.
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