The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted [Hardcover]

Frieda Wishinsky (Author), Song Nan Zhang (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 1999 | Grade Level: K and up

When the great cities of North America were being developed, there was little thought to creating “green spaces.” Frederick Law Olmsted combined his childhood love for nature with the structured beauty of the great parks of London and Paris to turn a neglected, swampy area into one of the most acclaimed parks in North America: Central Park in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-Olmsted is not a name most children will recognize, but they will know his work-beautiful open areas such as New York City's Central Park; the grounds surrounding the United States Capital; and other outdoor spaces in Boston, Niagara Falls, and Montreal. In picture-book format, Wishinsky tells the story of a man who drifted through several careers before finding his calling as a landscape architect. The text brings Olmsted to life through accounts of his childhood love of the outdoors, a fondly remembered walking tour of England, and his first day on the job as Central Park superintendent when his boss tried to make a fool of him. Full-page, realistically detailed pastel drawings illustrate the book. No bibliography or list of sources is included. This is a book that may need some introduction but it does have its uses.
Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“It’s a rich tale of a man finding his true calling and a nation finding a visionary…”
–San Francisco Chronicle

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tundra Books (April 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887764355
• ISBN-13: 978-0887764356
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.3 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,945,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Inspiring, August 13, 2000

By 

Mary G. Dabbs (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted (Hardcover)

The Man Who Made Parks is a beautifully illustrated and inspiring book for children. It tells the story of a brilliant and complicated man in words that children can understand. Olmsted's love of nature, his childhood illness, his mixed feelings about school, and the convoluted path that led him to his special place in American history are all described in the book, as well as his triumph in Central Park and much of what came after that. Mary G. Dabbs [e-mail]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Man Who Made Parks, August 11, 2000

By 

Mary G. Dabbs (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted (Hardcover)

The Man Who Made Parks is a beautifully illustrated and inspiring book for children. It tells the story of a complicated man who found his way into American history by way of a convoluted path, but it tells the story in words that children can understand. Olmsted's love of nature, his health problems, his mixed feelings about school, and the difficulties he had finding his special calling are all covered in the book, as well as his triumph in Central Park and some of the highlights of what came after that. Mary G.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beating Green Hearts, January 2, 2012

By 

Ohioan - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted (Hardcover)

For some reason, I'm not sure why, I expected this book to be uninteresting. I knew who Olmsted was and read some of his works and walked through some of the parks he built. But for whatever reason, I thought a children's book on the subject wouldn't be interesting. I was wrong, wrong, Wrong! This is a story that children (and adults) will find very interesting, with a sympathetic hero and great information about the times he lived in, including why people needed parks and why Frederick Law Olmsted wanted to build them. The "beating green hearts" that Olmsted built do live on.