Though it was only a little park, it held within its borders of old tall trees, notched with our names and shabby from our climbing, as many secret places, caverns and forests, prairies and deserts, as a country somewhere at the end of the sea.
Join Dylan Thomas and friends on a childhood adventure in Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea: ‘a world within the world of the sea town.’ Which feat of daring or endurance would YOU undertake?
Combining extracts from Dylan Thomas’s work, edited by Helen Docherty, with original illustrations by Thomas Docherty, this is a book for children of all ages. Published by Graffeg on 14 May 2026. A Welsh language edition, Parc Dylan, will be published on 4 March 2027.
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Reviews:
“This joyful and inspiring picture book…works as an accessible and tempting introduction to Dylan Thomas, and as a celebration of the limitless joy of outdoor play. It’s universal, in that every child will recognise those imaginary adventures, though they’ll envy Thomas his freedom to stay out all day, or roast potatoes in a camp fire, and be thrilled by the feats of daring and endurance that bring membership of the children’s secret societies. It’s also wonderfully particular to Dylan Thomas, as we can hear his voice throughout, the marvellous rhythm and syntax of his poetry. The illustrations show Thomas with young friends, a curly mop of hair to mark him out, and fill the park with a set of the characters he remembered from his childhood. Somehow, they make it even more magical and more real. A book to treasure.”
– Lucy Staines, Books for Keeps
“This celebration of childhood imagination is a superb combination of radio extracts and poems by Thomas, remembering the freedom and fantasy that he and his friends experienced in Swansea’s ‘ugly, lovely’ Cwmdonkin Park. Beautifully illustrated, it recreates a time when, left to their own devices, children could create scary, thrilling adventures and still be home for tea. An utter delight.”
– Sally Morris, Daily Mail
“Dylan’s Park is a beautifully illuminated and nostalgic memory of what childhood once was, and the playful and innocent quality that it still has.”
– BookTrust
“Dylan’s Park exudes play and possibility and feels wide-reaching and lyrical in all of the ways that Dylan Thomas’s writing so brilliantly embrace. I love the way the words and pictures evoke both the physicality of the park but also the boundless imagination, possibilities and pathways of childhood.”
– Jake Hope, Youth Libraries Group and Awards Executive for the Carnegie Medals
“This is such a special book!”
– Jess Webb, co-author with Michael Sheen of A Home for Spark the Dragon
“Dylan’s Park brings the nostalgic world of poet and writer Dylan Thomas to life for a new generation. Inspired by his childhood memories of Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea, this beautifully crafted picture book captures the magic, mischief and wonder of being young. Carefully edited by Helen Docherty and paired with atmospheric illustrations by Thomas Docherty, it feels both timeless and fresh. A charming celebration of imagination, friendship and outdoor adventures, this is a lovely choice for classrooms and cosy storytimes alike.”
– What The Teacher Reads
“The only words in this truly delightful picture book are those of Dylan Thomas, but they have been skilfully edited by Helen Docherty to recreate the poet’s childhood adventures in Swansea’s Cwmdonkin Park which was full ‘of terrors and treasures’. The park could contain robbers’ dens, pirate cabins or dragon’s lairs and yet ‘still the next day it remained as unexplored as the Poles’. The beautiful, painterly illustrations of the curly haired boy in his shorts and long socks and all the regular characters that the poet met, perfectly capture that bygone age and are seemingly suffused with the golden light of affectionate memories. We have lost none of the lyricism of the poet’s words, which would be a pleasure to read aloud. Wonderful as an introduction to Dylan Thomas and to a real Welsh location, but also as a joyful celebration of outdoor play.”
– Joy Court, Love Reading 4 Kids
“Dylan’s Park is a book that evokes memories, joy and a sense of free and open spaces leading to dozens of childhood adventures. Helen Docherty has drawn out the most perceptive passages from Reminiscences of Childhood, while the last two pages contain perfect snippets from Return Journey and the poem, Should Lanterns Shine. This focus creates a stunning and gentle, very satisfying story, one that is beautiful and authentic. Thomas Docherty’s lovely, lively illustrations bring life and a child’s simple joy to the tale. Not only does this evoke a genuine sense of Dylan Thomas in his formative years; a sense of how his creativity began and evolved, but it creates in us an understanding and emotional, imaginative feeling of childhood. A wondrous book to share and love.”
