Description

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We Go to the Park is a beautiful, lyrical meditation on going to the park to play—which extends into a reflection on life itself—from Booker Prize-longlisted author Sara Stridsberg, and the inimitable, award-winning illustrator Beatrice Alemagna!

Translated from Swedish by B.J. Woodstein

The park beckons us to leave our daily routines behind and enter its zone of endless possibility. In the park, the usual rules don’t apply. In the park, what matters most is the moment, and losing track of time to the timelessness of imagination, invention, observation, and chance. In the park, there are risks, of course, but also the deepest rewards, to be found in the freedom experienced through play that is both embodied and participatory. It is not the lone “I,” but the “we” that goes to the park, where chance encounters might suddenly become moments of deep connection—however fleeting—with others, nature, and ourselves.

Originally published in Sweden, this first English–language edition printed in Italy on thick cream paper offers an immersive experience of transformation, longing, and transcendence to readers of all ages, while reminding adult readers in particular of the everyday miracle contained in encountering another consciousness.

About the Author

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Beatrice Alemagna has written and illustrated dozens of children’s books, which have received numerous awards all over the world and have been translated into 14 languages. The author-illustrator of two New York Times Best Illustrated books, she has also been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award seven times and shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award twice. Enchanted Lion has published four of her picture books: The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy; Child of Glass; Telling Stories Wrong; and the forthcoming You Can't Kill Snow White, a picture book for teens and adults, published under Enchanted Lion's Unruly imprint. Born in Bologna, Italy, Alemagna lives and works in Paris, France.

Praise For…

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★ “The absence of light inspires its own unique story in this scintillating, kid-centered view of shadow play... Handy picks apart this day-to-day darkness while preserving its magic and wonder. Meanwhile, Feng’s art depicts the natural existence of shadows, outdoor and in, with an evocative sense of wonder. The world on these pages is rendered realistically, its innate magic still held intact. With kids’ fears banished, these shadows are no less enigmatic for being observed so closely in this lyrical, loving ode.”  
— Kirkus (starred review)

“The park offers refuge to the child who narrates this uninhibited prose poem... Evocative text, blots of color and streams of expressive line show children playing on fanciful structures, in meadows and clearings, their emotions—contentment, exasperation, joy—readable in their bodies.The park is a place of liberation and passion, the creators convey.”  
— Publishers Weekly

“Not to be missed… This remarkable collaboration between two acclaimed creators—a Swedish novelist/playwright and an Italian artist—invites teens and adults to reminisce about and reconsider simple trips to the park through a surprising lens. The pairing of otherworldly paintings with brief, deceptively simple lines of text turns ordinary playgrounds, fields, and woods into landscapes of endless possibility.”
— Laura Simeon