Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Children's Nonfiction Historical

The Man Who Made Parks

The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted

by (author) Frieda Wishinsky

illustrated by Song Nan Zhang

Publisher
Tundra
Initial publish date
Jan 2009
Category
Historical, General, Architecture
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780887769023
    Publish Date
    Jan 2009
    List Price
    $12.99

Add it to your shelf

Where to buy it

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 5 to 9
  • Grade: k to 4

Description

The story of Olmsted who designed some of North America’s most famous public spaces

When the great cities of North America were being built, little thought was given to the idea of creating “green spaces.” But these oases from the dirt, gravel, and noise of the crowded city streets were exactly what were needed. One of the few people to recognize this fact was Frederick Law Olmsted, North America’s first landscape architect.

Combining his love of nature with his admiration for the structured beauty found in the great public parks of London and Paris, Olmsted turned neglected, swampy acres on the edge of New York City into one of the most acclaimed parks in the world: Central Park. But Olmsted’s success was not earned overnight. He spent many years wandering from job to job, searching for the perfect career. And when he finally discovered his passion, few people were confident in his abilities. But Olmsted fought for the preservation of areas like Yosemite in the USA, and his perseverance would be rewarded: he went on to design some of the most famous public spaces in North America.

About the authors

 

Frieda Wishinsky
est l'auteure de plus de 40 livres pour enfants. Parmi les ouvrages déjà
parus, on peut citer, entre autres,

Ounga Bounga, Tu es méchante Lily-Ange!, Le sac à main de la reine,
Canada en vedette

et les romans de la série Catastrophe! Elle vit à Toronto, en
Ontario.

 

FRIEDA WISHINSKY has written over seventy books for children, including Oonga Boonga; You're Mean, Lily Jean; the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award winner Please, Louise!; the middle-grade series Survival, and the non-fiction books Explorers Who Made It . . . or died trying; Everything but the Kitchen Sink and Colossal Canada. Frieda lives in Toronto, Ontario with her husband. Visit her online at www.friedawishinsky.com.

Frieda Wishinsky's profile page

Song Nan Zhang's profile page

Editorial Reviews

“The straightforward text is informative, and the many colorful pencil illustrations add greatly to the book’s appeal . . . [This] illustrated biography makes its statement with style.”— Booklist

“The text brings Olmsted to life . . .” — School Library Journal

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

Other titles by

Other titles by