Voices in the Park

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how the characters are shown – what do the colours and images suggest to you about the characters – what do they make you feel?; There is some disagreement about the origins of the numerous variations of the name Smith. The addition of an e at the end of the name is sometimes considered an affectation, but may have arisen either as an attempt to spell smithy or as the Middle English adjectival form of smith, which would have been used in surnames based on location rather than occupation (in other words, for someone living near or at the smithy). Wikipedia The composition tends to symmetrical. Clearly the symmetry serves to emphasise the inherent equality between human beings; in this park, outside the individuating arena of their homes, everyone is on the same level, literally. The illustrations are vivid and differentiate between the chapters, for each character. It could be useful to look at this with children and to begin to think about how illustrations can help the reader to understand more about the characters' thoughts, feelings and to try and dig a bit deeper to uncover what the author/ illustrator is trying to tell us through the images. This links to the idea of 'Visual Literacy' and encouraging children to look at all forms of print and communication. The fourth, and last, voice is the little girl that belongs to the sad father. I will note that the author uses the word “twit” to describe the angry women, so if you would rather avoid that, just change the word to “lady”. But I like to use that as an opportunity to discuss wording and what that word means. Again you are going to discuss who is telling the story and who’s voice is missing, if anyone.

The four different voices present very different perspectives. The illustrations are full of surreal detail. This is a book to read again and again to find something new in each reading and a book that can prompt conversations about emotions, different points of view and prejudice. This story appears to be set in England, though I’ve never seen a big English park as deserted as this one. This park is a representation of the characters’ inner states, in which no one is truly connected to the others. (See also: Loneliness in Art and Storytelling.) Draw a map showing the different places featured in the story. Use this to show the route taken by each of the voices that day. The animal depictions also force readers to focus on other artistic elements that imply socioeconomic status and gender roles. The depiction of the mother character implies wealth, and stereotypical attitudes of wealthy women. The depiction of the father character implies poverty, and stereotypical (or perhaps not-so stereotypical) attitudes of poor men. The children seem to transcend gender stereotypes, as the boy takes on more of a female gender role. He is reluctant to play with the girl, and less outgoing. The girl wants to play with the boy, and is much more outgoing. She seems to convince the boy to play, which is not very characteristic of girls in most stories.I really didn’t enjoy the choice to make the “people” depicted as monkeys/apes?? The one place where it worked for me and that gave me a good laugh was on the sign of the homeless panhandler.

Another way parallax sometimes works in picture books: Within the world of the story, the reader doesn’t know what is real and what is in the imagination. In stories for young children (especially carnivalesque ones) a child character’s adventure is probably happening entirely inside their own head. But for a child reader, it makes no difference whether a story happens within the mind or within the veridical world of the story. For children, there is no distinction between reality and imagination. The ultimate experience is the same. PARATEXT Why do you think Anthony Browne chose a park as the setting? Would a different setting affect the attitude and behaviour of the characters? As father and son walk to the park, they are downcast. The father “needed to get out of the house”. They live in an economically destitute area, and pass a man sitting on the street asking for money. “Millions of kids”? The kids that Santa gives gifts to? There are many millions of poor children in this world.I love using the work of Anthony Browne in my classroom, and my students thoroughly enjoyed these units of work, particularly the consolidation tasks with Creative Arts integrated throughout. Think about the hopes and dreams of the different voices who are speaking. Could you describe these to a friend? To start your critical literacy session with the kiddos, I suggest that you read the book and have the discussions anytime but bedtime. We read them during our calm down time of the day which is after lunch. Sit down in a cozy spot and pull out the book. Read the title of the book and ask your child this question: The story portrays four viewpoints on a sequence of events that occur within a park which subsequently mean two families from different socioeconomic origins meet in a park. A boy called 'Charles' is struggling within an elitist, judgemental and restricted environment that doesn’t allow him to express himself and feel free. Due to his mothers oppressive nature his voice is being oppressed. The young girl from a lower socioeconomic status does, however, have more freedom, including a voice. When you read this story again, you can change up the questions you ask the kids. Maybe try discussing some of these:

The story starts with an upper-class mother and son who walk their dog to the park and meet other people who are depicted as coming from a lower class status. What I found interesting within the story is that this can be a realistic occurrence that can happen daily. I consider the characters can also relate to the reader quite accessibly. In my opinion this is done through a good use of language and wonderful illustrations that pose extraordinary features. Although many may find these as unusual, I believe the use of these types of pictures as appealing. The mother wants to retain her position as a privileged white woman. (Yes, animals can still be white women.) Her son is going the same way, but for now he wants to enjoy the freedom of being a kid without the heavy weight of responsibility. He wants a playmate.Voices in the Park is a very unique children's book. It tells the story from four separate perspectives about the same day in the park: a woman, her son, a man, and his daughter. The two children play together--creating a friendship--while the two adults keep to themselves. The woman, specifically, is upset by having to share the park bench with the man. The feelings of these characters can be seen in the illustrations. Depending on the perspective, the reader will notice the seasons changing. For example, the trees will appear bare for one character and in full bloom for another. Impressionism. 23 July 2010. Wikipedia. 17 Aug. 2010 < http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/​impressionism>.