Percy's Bumpy Ride

Percy the Park Keeper

by Nick Butterworth

The animals can't imagine what on earth Percy is doing in the workshop, but he's certainly making a great deal of noise. A squirrel thinks he might be making a bird table and a rabbit guesses it's a park bench. But when Percy finally does appear he's sitting on top of a very strange-looking machine indeed...Percy's invention is an engine-powered lawn mower to help him get all the grass in the park cut quickly. The animals climb on board to help him try it out and are very impressed when a stripe of beautifully-mown grass appears behind the machine. But when Percy tries going a little faster, the machine suddenly takes off! Fortunately for the park keeper and his friends there are some woolly helpers on hand to make sure they get a soft landing. Nick Butterworth's humour and warmth, combined with his exquisite illustrations, have made him, and Percy the park keeper, household names. In this new addition to the series, his most famous creation is back with all his animal friends from the park. AGE 3-6

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 1999

About the author

Nick Butterworth was born in London and grew up in a sweet shop in Essex. He worked for various major graphic design companies before becoming a full-time author and illustrator. Among his picture books are Thud!, QPootle5, Jingle Bells, Albert le Blanc, Tiger and The Whisperer, winner of the Nestlé Gold Award. But he is best known for his stories about Percy the Park Keeper, which have sold more than 9 million copies worldwide. Percy has also appeared in his own television series.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entertaining book is another in the 'Percy the Park keeper' series where Percy decides to build a lawnmower to help cut his long grass. He spends a lot of time in his workshop building it and once it is finished he shows it to his animal friends. They are all intrigued, especially by the propeller which Percy says is to fan him while he works. They all jump on but what Percy doesn't realise is that his lawnmower can actually fly! However soon they land in a heap of trouble when the blade stops spinning and they all come tumbling down.
The illustrations are colourful not only depicting the text but also draw the eye for the reader. The text is written in black on a white background which makes the text easy to read and stand out. There is repetition used as well as a lexical field of sound which can be attractive for readers to repeat and for younger readers to listen to.

[Dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

We do really like stories from Percy's Park. Recommend.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, but not my favorite Percy story.

[ArEzO.... Es · Rating 2 out of 5]

پِرْسي‌، نگهبانِ پارك‌ جنگلي‌ بعد از سه‌ روز كار در كارگاهش‌ با اختراعي‌ تازه‌ از آن‌جا بيرون‌ مي‌آيد. او در حالي‌ كه‌ روي‌ صندلي‌ دستگاهي‌ عجيب‌ و پر سر و صدا نشسته‌ از كارگاهش‌ خارج‌ مي‌شود. حيوانات‌ جنگل‌ كه‌ در اين‌ مدت‌ انتظار او را مي‌كشيده‌اند مي‌خواهند بدانند وسيله‌ي‌ عجيبي‌ كه‌ او روي‌ آن‌ نشسته‌ چه‌ جور چيزي‌ است‌. هركس‌ حدسي‌ مي‌زند و پرسي‌ در آخر اعلام‌ مي‌كند اين‌ فقط‌ يك‌ چمن‌زن‌ ساده‌ است‌ كه‌ به‌ وسيله‌ي‌ پرواز تبديل‌ شده‌ و مي‌تواند پرسي‌ را به‌ همه‌ جاي‌ پارك‌ ببرد. پرسي‌ حيوانات‌ را روي‌ دستگاهش‌ سوار مي‌كند و همگي‌ براي‌ گردشي‌ بر فراز پارك‌ آماده‌ مي‌شوند. از ميان‌ حيواناتي‌ كه‌ همراه‌ پرسي‌ هستند آن‌هايي‌ كه‌ نمي‌توانند پرواز كنند از همه‌ هيجان‌ زده‌تراند چون‌ مي‌توانند براي‌ اولين‌ بار پارك‌ را از بالا ببينند. مسافران‌ پرسي‌ در اين‌ سفر كوتاه‌ هم‌ لحظه‌هايي‌ شاد را تجربه‌ مي‌كنند و هم‌ با خطر مواجه‌ مي‌شوند. اما دوستان‌ تازه‌اي‌ هم‌ پيدا مي‌كنند..
«پرواز پُردست‌انداز»، يكي‌ از كتاب‌هاي‌ مجموعه‌ داستان‌هاي‌ «ماجراهاي‌ پارك‌ جنگلي‌» است‌ و خود كتاب‌ مجموعه‌اي‌ از داستان‌هاي‌ ساده‌اي‌ كه‌ در پاركي‌ جنگلي‌ براي‌ نگهبان‌ پارك‌ و حيوانات‌ اتفاق‌ مي‌افتد.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Percy the park keeper was busy building something in his shop. When he brought it out his animal friends were astonished to see the machine he had made with propellers on top. Percy said they were to fan him. They then went for a ride on it with him, but the lever didn’t work the way it was intended and up they lifted! There is a foldout page to add fun to this wonderful story that is gorgeously illustrated.

[Lorna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I didn't find this book anything special. There are a lot of words and pages for not much of a story line. It also seems to have an awkward mix of fantasy in a book that otherwise seems like it should be more realistic.

[JN]

Laugh-out-loud funny!!