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.