Voices in the Park

Voices in the Park

"Charlie picked a flower, and gave it to me.  Then his mom called him and he had to go.  He looked sad." 

Have you ever picked up a book and immediately marveled at the nuanced brilliance it contains?  That was my reaction the first time I read through Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne.  The book, which is segmented into four voices tells the relatively straightforward story of a visit to the park from the perspective of four characters. 

However, Voices in the Park is anything but simple.  Each of the four sections has a distinctly different tone and provides ELA teachers with a ton of examples to examine Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency and more.  The language used reflects the experiences and opinions of the characters so, for example, a dog at the park is both a "scruffy mongrel"  to the snooty, upper-class mother and a "very friendly dog"  to her lonely son.  Through language Browne expertly addresses issues of classism, gender expectations, and friendship.  

However, it is Browne's illustrations that truly make this book a masterpiece.  One doesn't need to be an art history major to recognize the modern art influences and allusions made to Van Gogh, Davinci, Magritte and more throughout the pages.  His surrealist style allows for greater insight into each of the characters' thoughts, feelings, and experiences.    Just look at this illustration, taken from the third voice. 

By using the light post as a divider, Browne perfectly juxtaposes the little boy's loneliness to the little girl's bright and optimistic point-of-view without using a single word. The illustrations are filled with examples of symbolism, allusion, characterization, and more. The illustrations are so filled with content, that even on my fortieth reading of the book I am still noticing new details and gaining new perspectives.  

As a teacher, this book is one of my go-to's.  I find myself pulling it off the shelf several times throughout the year, to help students understand writing concepts like Voice or literary concepts like allusion. Regardless of the grade level, I've found that this text can be used as a vehicle to teach almost anything.  My seventh graders can better understand characterization, my seniors can better understand structural analysis- it's perfect!  

 I always use this text as an introduction to analysis with my ninth graders.  Over the years I have tried different approaches, but the approach I have found to be the most effective is this: have students read through the book in a small group.  Allow them to discuss the book and brainstorm together - then, without any additional instruction ask them to write a brief analysis of the book.  This is one of my favorite ways to formatively assess my student's writing skills.  Often they return with very simple summaries of the book, and that gives me a valuable insight into their understanding and level of mastery regarding writing mechanics.  I read through all of their essays and pull quotes from some of their exemplary work, then the next day we go through one of the four voices and, as a class, point out everything we see.  After making a list of things we notice we begin to analyze as a group.  I then ask them to rewrite their piece to make it even better. This day serves so many purposes including explaining analysis in a really concrete way, setting the expectation of revisiting and rewriting our work, building excitement and inquiry around a book, and so much more!  

As teachers, we are always looking for tools that work in multiple situations and Anthony Browne's Voices in the Park is my favorite multi-purpose too.