Four different voices tell their own versions of the same walk in the park. There’s a bossy woman, a sad man, a lonely boy & a young girl whose warmth touches those she meets Voices in the Park could be incorporated into an Anthony Browne author study & is well suited to work with pupils in upper Key Stage 2 (9-11 years). It is also a good text for group & guided reading, providing opportunities for challenging & reflective reading, at the same time being accessible & appealing to readers who may not have developed the stamina for long novels.

The teaching sequence suggested below, explores voice in literature. The drama and role-play activities provide opportunities for considering the difference between words, thoughts and actions. The plans should be adapted to suit the needs and interests of the children in your class and care should be taken not to move children towards a prescribed interpretation of the book.

In this reworking of the earlier Voices in the Park, the story of a visit to the park is told from the point of view of the four characters featured: Charles; his mother,  Smudge and her father. The four voices are represented by contrasting illustration style, font, layout and diction. The characters are depicted as primates: the adults are gorillas and the children are chimpanzees, but the story is essentially a human one. Characteristically, Anthony Browne’s visual text is rich in cultural allusion, making this a book that works on many levels and open to interpretation.

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