Voices in the Park [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

Anything can happen on a day in the park.

Four people enter a park, and through their eyes we see four different visions. There's the bossy woman, the sad man, the lonely boy and the young girl whose warmth touches those she meets. As the story moves from one voice to another, their perspectives are reflected in the shifting landscape and seasons. This is an intriguing, many-layered, enormously entertaining book that demands to be read again and again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Browne again proves himself an artist of inventive voice and vision as he creates perhaps his most psychologically complex work to date via a commonplace experienceAa brief sojourn to a city park. The author of King Kong and the Willy stories again features anthropomorphic chimps, who provide four unique perspectives: an uppity, overbearing mother and her glum son, Charles; and an unemployed fellow and his cheerful daughter, Smudge. What transpires factually is simple: the two children play together, their dogs do the same, the adults keep to themselves. Yet Browne reinvents and overlays the scene as each parent and child in turn describes their version of the events, altering light, colors and words. Browne sets up the tension by starting off with Charles's stylishly dressed mother, who lets her "pedigree Labrador," Victoria, off the leash and then scoffs at "some scruffy mongrel"(Smudge's dog). The matriarch similarly describes Charles's newfound friend as "a very rough-looking child." Through Charles's eyes, readers watch the tops of lampposts, gray clouds and a leafless tree take on the shape of his mother's large chapeau, as her hat-dominated figure casts a shadow over the boy. In the succeeding page, Browne cleverly frames a shift in Charles's mood with an illustration divided by a lamppost: threatening clouds and bare trees give way to blue skies and blossoming branches when a smiling, pigtailed (anything but rough-looking) Smudge on the sunny side of the park bench invites Charles to play on the slide. Browne offers readers much to pore over. His images reflect the human psyche; some are eerie (Edvard Munch's "The Scream" appears in the want ads; a burning tree provides the backdrop for mother and son's silent exit from the park), others uplifting. For example, the subjects of two portraits leaning on the park wall, a gloomy Rembrandt self-portrait and a weeping Mona Lisa, transform into a dancing couple under a street lamp fashioned from a flower, as the jobless man departs the park, cheered by his daughter. Although some discomfiting tonesAin both pictures and textA appear in the vignettes, Browne also celebrates the redeeming power of connecting with another human being. His creativity invites youngsters to tap into their own, as they look for clues between the trees and add their own spins to Browne's four interconnected tales. Ages 7-11.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 5-A mother takes her son and their dog to the park, where she thinks about dinner and turns up her nose at the "frightful types." Meanwhile, an unemployed father sits on the same bench and searches the want ads while admiring his daughter's chatter and their dog's energy. The two kids, of course, find one another. In four short first-person narratives, each of the characters recounts the same outing from a different perspective and at a different emotional level. The mother is annoyed. The father is melancholy. The boy is bored and lonely, then hopeful. The girl is independent and outgoing, yet observant. The real "voices," however, are not found in the quiet, straightforward text, but in Browne's vibrant, super-realistic paintings in which trees are oddly shaped, footsteps turn to flower petals, Santa Claus begs for change, and people happen to be primates. Some of the illustrations appear in smaller squares while others are full bleeds so that even the margins become part of the narrative. Browne's fans should find this even more satisfying than Willy the Dreamer (Candlewick, 1998). Because readers will want to compare pages (did that building turn into a castle?) and tarry over every detail, this book is best suited to independent reading. Even prereaders will be intrigued by the way a simple visit to the park can literally be "seen" in so many different ways.
Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; 1st edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078942522X
• ISBN-13: 978-0789425225
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 10.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,204,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish there was a rating above 5 this is so good!, March 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Voices in the Park (Hardcover)

This brilliantly illustrated story is about four different characters, a bossy woman, a poor man, a lonely boy and a young girl, all apes. Each of the moods of the characters personality is reflected in different seasons and each in a different font. With each voice described you begin to understand the story and the events that are occurring in the park that day. One voice at a time you begin to see them all fit together. The little girls story at the end ties them all together.
I believe that with the story the author is suggesting that we open our eyes and see the big picture. Appreciate what is happening around you. I may not be hitting this right but I read this book over and over and I see a deeper meaning in this story then just to describe the occurrence in the park. I believe that the author wanted to show the simplicity in children's thoughts and show that they are so peaceful and appreciate and want to know everything and everyone without any prejudice or immediate assumptions. Also within the pictures there are so many hidden meanings that you wouldn't notice first off. The pictures display the emotions of the character. An example is one picture where Charles, a boy being reprimanded by his strict mother, meets smudge, a happy go lucky girl. His side of the picture is all gloomy skies and her side is happy and colorful.
There are beautiful paintings in this book that catch the eyes of any age. The creativity of using different fonts was wonderful; it keeps kids interested in what they are reading. I love this book and I feel that every time I pick it up I will find something that I had not noticed before and I love books like that.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "VOICE" Lesson for 6 Traits, June 28, 2007

By 

TeacherMommy "dhoge_2000" (pearland, texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices in the Park (Paperback)

This is the PERFECT book to use for teaching VOICE in a 6 Traits writing classroom or in a Writer's Workshop classroom. The students could follow up after hearing the book with a lesson about each voice and how it was unique. Fold a sheet into fourths and have them write each voice in a square. Then, have them write their own story using at least 2 different voices. I love this book and my daughter was very interested in it.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique story that will make you think., March 29, 2007

By 

J. kingman (new england) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Voices in the Park (Paperback)

Voices in the Park is not your typical book. There is no plot, as such. The afternoon's events are told by 4 different characters and clearly you will see that each one has a very different outlook. This is a good book to open to discussion with children that things are not always as they seem, that one person's fun is another person's bother, and to be mindful of our differences is what can hopefully connect us.

Not what i call a 'feel-good' book. Its not fluffy. This is a story that will bring about thought and discussion.