Cyril and Pat by Emily Gravett

Cheeky yet sincere. Kirkus

Cyril thought he was living alone in the park until the day he met Pat. Pat is grey and Cyril is sure Pat is another squirrel but is he? Other park dwellers can see the 'truth' but Cyril can only see a friend! Until the day someone blurts out the word rat. Does this mean the end of their friendship?

A colourful, rhyming story about friendship against the odds which is enhanced by illustrations that are witty, detailed, expressive and atmospheric. Funny and endearing, Cyril’s experience celebrates independent thought and the joy of difference. Book Trust

The really lucky thing about a charity bookfair is when people clear out their bookshelves and donate brand new books. Yes Cyril and Pat was published in 2018 but I would guess this book was only read once or twice in a family. It was purchased from a local bookstore in July 2018. I picked this book up partly because I really like books by Emily Gravett but also because this book (only AUS$4) had an intact dust jacket and the copy is in mint condition. The case reveal is wonderful (that's the surprise you find under the dust jacket) and here it is:

A fun topic to explore with your library group or class could be 'unlikely friends'. If you click the label on this post you will find more books on this theme. I especially love the two Bear and Chook books. And another book series featuring a squirrel are the books by Smriti Halls.

Emily Gravett won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2005 for her debut book Wolves and then again in 2008 for Little Mouse's book of Fears.

Kirkus Star review

Kirkus Star review

I recently read this wonderful book for readers aged 10+:

Ark in the Park by Wendy Orr illustrated by Kerry Millard

"But every night, Mr and Mrs Noah wished one impossible wish - they wished they had grandchildren."

"Sophie's mother and father came from a country a long way away and Sophie did not have grandparents or aunts and uncles to visit. She did not have cousins to call on the phone or visit on holidays."

Sophie lives in a busy family. Mum and Dad have to go to work, and they are also juggling twin toddlers. Sophie lives near a large park but to get there she has to cross a busy road. Notice that word - busy. The road is busy and mum and dad are too busy to take Sophie across to the park. Why does she want to go there? Because - well take a look at the title of this book. There is an ark in the park. How can there be an ark? What is an ark? Is this in any way connected with the person called Noah? And of course, does the ark have anything to do with animals?

Yes - is the answer to nearly all of these questions. Mr and Mrs Noah live and actually built a ship like an ark and it is in the park. It is their home of course but it is also a pet shop with seven different levels or decks. The animals are pets not wild jungle animals such as elephants. There are dogs, cats, birds, some tortoises and even a deck for snakes. 

Mr and Mrs Noah do not have any children and that is a sadness but now that they are quite old what they would really love is some grandchildren.

I guess you have "joined the story dots".  Sophie is lonely. Sophie lives near the park. Is there a way they all can meet?

For her birthday Sophie asks mum and dad to take her to the park. She has been watching the ark from her apartment window, and she knows it is a curious place, but she has no idea how this visit will change her life, change the lives of Mr and Mrs Noah and even help her mum and dad find their own welcoming place in the community. 

There is one of those little street libraries near my house. I often walk past on my way back from shopping. Today I spied Ark in the Park. I first read this in 1994 and even though that is now thirty years ago the story lingered with me. Listen to an audio sample here from chapter 2. 

The magic of getting what you wish for is told in graceful prose full of gentleness and whimsy; the beguiling line drawings are full of amusing details that invite closer scrutiny, especially as they work their way in and out of the text. Satisfying and most charming. Kirkus 

Ark in the Park won the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 1995. I am thrilled to see there are copies still available but if you are reading this in 2024 I suggest you will need to act very quickly. This heavily reduced price makes me think this online supplier will have limited stock. It is sad that here in Australia our award winners are so rarely reprinted. My copy from the street library is not in very good shape but I will gift it to a young reader who has just finished her first year of school - I am certain she will enjoy this easy chapter book and I think she will also love the lively pen illustrations by Kerry Millard.

See more books by Wendy Orr here. Here is a Q&A with Wendy Orr from 2012. I was thrilled to read she loved Rumer Godden as a child - me too!

POST UPDATE: Here is Wendy Orr's reply to my Instagram post:

I am so thrilled to have Ark in the Park coming out as an audiobook on Dec 12 and available for pre-order now, from Audible or Blackstone Audio. Huge thanks to Robert Hart for the audio production and narration tips, and to @sarah_bacaller of Thrive Audio for reaching out, producing and organising things. Here are the covers for its print editions, with the original cover art (and internals) done by Kerry Millard. This book is very special to me; it came straight from the heart and my memories of being a child in a foreign country and desperately wanting grandparents like my friends had. It was one of the first books I wrote, and knowing nothing about the rules of getting published, I just wrote it at the length and format as it appeared to me - so it had a lot of rejections! Finally I sent it to @cathiebooks, who was then at HarperCollins - her attitude was that nothing else was being published at that length - 3000 words - so let’s start doing it! It took several years and finally came out in 1994, winning Australian CBC book of the year in 95 and being shortlisted for many American awards.

Wendy Orr shared this audio version of Ark in the Park which has (I think) just been released with Wendy Orr herself as the narrator.  And here are some editions in other languages - some of these are still in print. I think the title of the Japanese version translates as Sophie's Wish. Wendy told me it is unlikely the English edition of Ark in the Park will ever be reprinted. 

Boot - The Creaky Creatures by Shane Hegarty

Boot is back with his loyal friends Rusty, Noke and Poochy. Boot sees a toy robot on the city street - a little pig called Mr Piggles. Boot follows Mr Piggles because he feels some connection to this odd broken down toy robot. After a crazy chase the friends find themselves in an inner city park. The park is a beautiful space, a refuge in the middle of the noisy and chaotic city. Boot remembers he has been to this park before with his original owner and friend Beth and her grandmother but this memory does not give Boot a warm and fuzzy feeling. He feels unwell. His tummy is upset. He feels angry and sad and utterly distressed but he does not know why. In the park he meets two very special human children and an interesting assortment of partially repaired toys. There is a unicorn called Killer, a dinosaur called Sprout, a huge bear called Slippers and Herman the hypno hamster. You can see Slippers, Boot and Noke in this illustration.

Publisher blurb: Boot was once a toy robot, but it has come a long way since it was scrapped and woke back up with only two-and-a-half glitchy memories. When Boot catches sight of a robot pet it used to know - Mr Piggles - our hero and pals follow it to a beautiful green square in the city of skyscrapers.  Here they find not just real nature, but also a haven for broken and rejected pets. They also meet the children who look after the pets, and for whom this green space is a sanctuary too. But Boot is distracted by its emotions, swinging from happy to sad ... maybe Boot is broken? Can it work out what is wrong, with the help of its friends?

It is not often that I persist with a series but I adored Boot Small Robot Big Adventure (Book 1) and Boot - The Rusty Rescue (Book 2) so much that I was delighted to see this third instalment in a bookstore yesterday and even more delighted to read the whole book early this morning. 

As with the first two books, you can read this third instalment on different levels.  I really enjoyed the parallel commentary about consumerism; the distraction of gadgets and phones; our need for green space; urban development; the power of protesting; community action; and the importance of recognising our emotional responses to unfair or distressing situations. But of course this is also just a terrific story, a wild romp about teamwork, robots and good friends who help one another.

I highly recommend this whole series as an essential addition to every primary school library and that's not just because I do enjoy books about robots! Here is an audio sample from page 5 onwards.

Because this third instalment of Boot is all about robots and emotions I would pair this book with these: