Voices in the Park

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Some of the language and opinions conveyed could be quite tricky to explain but could also provoke some interesting conversations. The title is an invention of the Victorian public and press, dating from its exhibition in the opening display at the Bethnal Green Museum in 1872–1875, just after its arrival in England. This story was new and surprising to me, and included many layers for me to unpack upon multiple rereads.

Could you turn the story into a radio play with different children playing the role of each voice in the story? If you enjoyed the art in Anthony Browne’s Voices In The Park, I recommend you check out contemporary British artist Michael Kidd. Gr 2-What makes Voices in the Park (Transworld Publishers, 1998) so very interesting is its use of insightful humor both in the text and in the illustrations.

What I found interesting within the story is that this can be a realistic occurrence that can happen daily.

The well-intentioned ape from Willy the Wimp is back; ""Browne deftly adds a subtle sophistication to this affable tale of a friendship between two dissimilar individuals,"" said PW.Whereas, the father is shown in dirty overalls and the text in his voice stated ‘looked through the paper for a job…I know it’s a waste of time’ indicated that he was possibly made redundant for a while and has not found a job since then. This story deals with complex issues and asks the reader to infer about what is happening to each of the characters.

It would be worth finding the original paintings that are referenced in the text – such as ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch. Furthermore, the man and girl Gorilla in the book have human arms and hands which are coloured differently, whereas the rest of body is like a gorilla (see pages). Big, arresting color photo silhouettes dominate the pages of these four Big Picture Paperback books from a Dorling Kindersley imprint. If they say they don’t know, then do a “picture walk” or a quick viewing of the pages for them to create an answer on what they believe the book is about.This therefore enables all readers to connect with all characters and make up their own minds about what they think about each of the characters. Elementary school teachers can use this text as a tool to teach the Common Core component, "Craft and Structure.