Another picture book with a different structure, different art style but identical message is Who Wants To Be A Poodle I Don’t by Lauren Child. I don’t buy the binary that some picture books are didactic while others are not. All stories contain a message, even if that message is conveyed by what they leave out rather than what goes in. More useful: to draw a distinction between implicit and explicit messaging. After reading and discussing both chapters as a class, children put themselves in the shoes of each character, and complete thought bubbles for different scenarios from the book, or write short diary entries. Alternatively, children are challenged to create freeze frames of different scenarios, and infer what each character is thinking and feeling.

I use surrealism a lot is because I was very affected by surrealist paintings when I was young. I also believe children see through surrealist eyes: they are seeing the world for the first time. When they see an everyday object for the first time, it can be exciting and mysterious and new. Anthony Browne from from the Teaching Books interview Notice the ‘a’ in the circle etched into the wall behind him: A symbol for anarchy since the 1970s. Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is sceptical of authority and rejects all involuntary, coercive forms of hierarchy. In this sense, Voices In The Park has an anarchist message. Anarchism also calls for the abolition of the state, which it holds to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful.

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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. This book is a collection of experiences of characters going to the park on the same day. Whilst the story is told one perspective at a time, the characters are linked through the illustrations that support the text in this picturebook. Initially I read the book and didn't realise the perspectives were linked until I noticed that two of the other characters had met and where doing the same activities from their own perspectives, in the illustration of a third character's perspective. Write some instructions to teach someone how to make their Dad a nice cup of tea, ?like the girl in the story.

Personally, I felt that the story indicates how we should not be judged based on our class or gender. It shows that people should never give up on life and start afresh when life becomes difficult. We just need someone to talk to or be there to support people through hard times. paint pictures of an everyday scene in the local park or playground but change a few objects into something else (a tree might become a face); Look at the different trees shown in the pictures. How do they change in each part of the story? Can you research different types of trees and write a report to share what you find out about them?

Engage children with digital learning

Let’s take a close look at Browne’s illustrations. The seasons are different for different characters, even though it’s the same bench. 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.