I found myself thinking in-depth about this book. What is the author suggesting about society? What made the characters the way they are? Do young readers subconsciously think about these things? When I think back to my favorite books as a child, they were mostly poetry books, fiction, and folklore. I can't help but wonder about what I would be like today if I had been exposed to more postmodern literature. Personally, I feel that some postmodern literature could discourage young readers. Especially if they have not been introduced to postmodern literature early on. But maybe if parents mix in postmodern literature with other genres, children may learn to think on their own, and not always buy into society's social norms. Could postmodern literature help to develop a more accepting society?
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16 comments:
I definitely agree with your initial reaction to this book. I thought that it was a bit far fetched for young readers to catch on to the complexity of the themes Anthony Browne is trying to portray. I often wondered if I would have thought this book were interesting at a young age or if that I would even understand it. However, after reading it again I came to realize that the concept of this books is more simple than I was making it seem. I also thought about the fact that children often look more closely at the pictures in these types of book to understand the concept. I think that after reading it a second time and paying more attention to the illustrations, it made things much more obvious than the first time that I read it when only paying attention to the words.
I think that having been exposed to more of these types of book as a child would have helped me better understand the real world. Like you, I often stuck to silly books, unrealistic fantasies, and fairy tales as my choice of book. I think that more exposure to these types of book at a young age will help prepare children for the very diverse world around them that has all types of people. It has a great message and I think I could really relate to your thoughts and feelings about Voices in the Park.
I was confused to say the least when I first read this book. I knew we had to write a paper about it, so the first time I went through this book I took notes and wrote down things to help guide my paper. It was an awful idea! I think it made me more confused, so I started over and began to read again. After finishing it I thought the exact same thing, what would little children think about this book, would they even understand anything that was going on?
In a way I am happy my parents never read me a story like this, I think it would have turned me off to reading. I didn't fully see a a conflict in this story, or even a purpose of the book. On the other hand, if my parents had read me stories like this (Postmodern) maybe I would get more out of it now. Its an interesting point to bring up! Good post!
I am glad other people found this book to be a bit confusing. I had no clue where the story was going and the characters story's would end abruptly only to move on to the next one. I understand the idea that Browne was trying to portray in having not just one idea of a scene but several through different lenses of characters but as said in the post how is a young child supposed to realize this?
I never had read anything like this as a child either, most books were pretty straightforward in understanding but maybe it is a better way for kids to learn and explore outside of the normal everyday picture book. There is definitely a stereotypical sense surrounding the story that kids may not pick up on but I feel like would not accurately portray regular people. I felt as if the father and daughter came from lower socio economic status and in turn the daughter did whatever she wanted and the dad seemed just sad through the whole story. This is not true for all people of that level. I was waiting for the father to become more bright but it just didn't happen.
I think think what everyone is saying is very interesting. I'm worried that people aren't giving the children enough credit. I think that a lot of children might not see the themes or get the story but a lot might. I can see why this story is difficult, I had to read it several times and each time I got more out of it.
I think that it's ok to be confused when reading this book. It promotes conversations such as these. It gets people talking. The book is not the only part of a child's learning. Asking peers or teachers what it means and having people that got different things out of it is crucial too. If a teacher reads this aloud and a child doesn't get it then everyone can tell each other how they feel about the book and what they understood.
I had the same initial reaction as you. I had no idea what the point of the story was. I also wasn't sure of the conflict either. But after I looked more closely at the pictures I warmed up to the book. I thought the illustrations told a better story than the text. I saw a lot of symbolism and hidden meanings, including ones that I still don't really understand. Foe example, there are pictures of animal part (like an elephant trunk or a whales tail) on almost every page. I'm still not sure what this means and I'm eager to find out in class what the rest of my group thought about it. I also noticed how the illustrations differed from each character and I thought this was a clever way to set the attitude for each character. Things like this helped me like the book more, because the illustrations told a stronger story than the writing. This makes me wonder however, if children would fully understand or even notice the hidden items and meanings in the pictures. What would be the point of even adding them into the book in that case?
I don't want to go ahead and say that children wouldn't enjoy reading a book like this. I think children could really identify and enjoy the stories of these characters, especially Smudge. I think postmodern fiction wouldn't discourage young readers but maybe even encourage them as long as it's something they still enjoy.
I personally don't think that Voices in the Park was meant to be read or understood by children. However, like we have mentioned in class, all kids are at different levels of development. That means that some kids might actually understand this book.
I read the book to my mom and commented that I would never read it to my kids (if I had them). She said that I should think about how it would help children understand that there are always multiple viewpoints. It would help them understand that different people see things differently depending on their life situations.
I do, however, believe that there are some strong political biases having to do with social classes that might be inappropriate or confusing for kids.
Another thing I was wondering was how Todd's kids reacted to the book and what they learned or saw in it. He said they really liked it and I'm curious as to what they took from it.
I definitely agree that Postmodern stories are often more difficult to understand. Voices in the Park was very unique and the theme/message of the story is hard to recognize at first reading. I think that the story was more difficult to understand though because we are not used to postmodern writing. I think the author of the article on Graphic Novels' explaination of the reason why adults don't think highly of Graphic Novels can be paralleled to explain why we have difficulty understanding postmodern writing. We don't understand the writing because we don't know how to read it. This is so with all new types of art. For example, we know how to represent movement in painting, but in the early 1900s people had to slowly figure it out for themselves because they weren't exposed to it at an early age or for extended periods of time. The same can be said for our generation and postmodern writing. We were not raised reading postmodern writing and arent used to the style or technique of the way that the story is set up. We look for signs of what the theme or lesson of the story is in the places that we are used to finding them, and do not find anything there. It is extremely easy for us to miss the point of stories because we simply dont know where to look.
Like many of you, I also had the same reaction. Whoa, what exactly is this book trying to tell me. It was confusing and again I wasn't sure if a child would understand the messages that were being portrayed in this book. Yet, shouldn't we let a child decide what he/she will understand? We can't make too many assumptions because we aren't in their heads. On the other hand, a guiding hand might help the kids along.
When I was a child, like most read fantasy books that were unrealistic and didn't really pertain to "real world" situations. I think that if my parents would have read me more books like this, I would have been a little more prepared to face some of the situations that would lie ahead of me. In saying that, I think that these types of books are useful in literature and children should be somewhat exposed to them. Times are changing, and that doesn't exclude literature. I also think that if kids read more books like Voices in the Park, they may start to understand how to analyze books in a way that they can get a deeper meaning out of it.
I found this book confusing, yet very interesting at the same time. It challenged me to think deeply instead of just reading a nice story.
I understand what everyone is saying about the book being complex and turning children off to it; however I don't agree. Any type of book with the amount of pictures and artistic ability is going to be a good read. The children may not understand all of the underlying meanings that we discussed in class but they will understand the basis of the book.
It is okay for a child to be confused while reading the book. All they have to do is ask if they are confused. This is a book that gets them thinking which is never a bad thing.
There are a ton of children books out there that don't even challenge the children. They need to be challenged in order to progress with their learning and reading. Having a book like this is not necessarily a bad thing, it will help the child in the long run.
I understood Voices in the Park right away and right away I could see how it was a children’s book. Voices in the Park is about point of view. I believe it is teaching children that people have different points of view and you need to respect everyone’s. Many times, I have been described as an optimist and I am, so I probably missed many of the negative issues in the book, but that it what I got out of it.
I will admit that postmodern picture books are something I have never encountered before and it was very weird to me. I do not know if this is true, but I can picture children reading this book and just taking it, as it is, no questions. I think this because I know that as a child I would have never noticed the weird illustrations or the other little details. I definitely noticed them when we were discussing the book and I was just confused as you. I still am. What is the point of it? Is it for attention?
I did not think about the society part of Voices in the Park until we talked about it in class. I think the author is sharing good things about both societies and I think that it is a good thing. I think it is good that the author is not favoring the upper class. I think children will notice this. Altogether, all you can think about is what you yourself thought of the book. I do not think it matters what the author was really trying to say, just what you got out of it.
When you ask, "If I was confused by this book as a 20 year old college student, what would a 10 year old think about this book??", I have a hard time trying to figure out the answer. I definitely agree with you- I do think that this story would be very tough for young children to understand. Although all students are different and some may see general themes, I believe that most students would not notice the themes of class and different points of views.
However, I disagree with you about this book as a whole... I REALLY enjoyed this book! I saw this book as an excellent example of how people are different, and peoples' backgrounds and experiences influence how they perceive something. It is really interesting how four characters who all go to the park on the same day at the same time have such different attitudes and points of view. This issue of differences happens constantly in every day life and I think it is an important lesson to emphasize. After our discussion in class on "Voices in the Park", my interest for this book grew bigger. Each member in my group saw a different theme! The four of us in my group perceived and interpreted the same book very differently, just like the four characters in the story did about their visit to the park.
I think this book is very unique and awesome! It may not be the best book for young children, but you never know what they might get out of it. I think that although this book is a picture book, it is a great one for young adults and adults to read, share and compare with others what they got out of it.
I was equally perplexed by Browne's work. After reading it, I was reminded of watching Disney movies as a child. Initially, I watched them for the pictures, characters, and laughs. But now, watching them and knowing what I know many years later, I can pick up hidden themes and concepts Disney incorporated into its classics. It never ceases to amaze me. I always wondered if Disney was aware of the fact that little kids are likely not going to pick up on their innuendos and messages and they put them into their work anyways, anticipating that kids will grow up and probably watch a Disney movie or two again OR if Disney actually believed that children as young as their actual audience is would pick up on the complexities behind the characters and the messages the interactions convey.
I truly don't believe that grade school children would understand the full message of Browne's postmodern work. They'll find the storyline intriguing, sure, and I'm willing to bet they'd love the artwork, but understanding what Browne is saying on a political or social level through his words and images? Doubtful. I am completely open to the possibility of being proven wrong, this was just my opinion based upon personal experience with children's work having deeper meanings that I didn't pick up on until much later.
I agree with you for sure. I mean postmodern fiction is not something that a child is reading. Although, some children do. I think that this type of book, is for older children who are trying to go in depth with books, such as 6th graders or up. They can understand more of the concepts the the book is actually talking about. I think that when children read this book, or it is read to them, the do not grasp the full outline of this story. I mean what kid is going to bring the society into this book? In my personal opinion, not many, some might. There is so much to this book, that it is almost necessary to read it over a couple times before you can get the whole thing. I had to read it over many times before i even noticed some of the things on the illustrations, such as the dogs on every page, or some of the things about society. I mean I am 20 years old and I still had problems with getting the full understanding of this whole book.
In contrast I do think that children will pick up on differences because there is different voices that have the different text. This helps a lot because of the fact that children notice these types of things. They pay more attention to the illustrations and the differences. The text is a big difference because it varies in each voice.
Overall, I do think that these types of books should wait to be read when kids get older ONLY if they want to grasp the full understanding of the book along with the theme. I do think that if this book is exposed to kids, it will not hurt them at all. Books are for everyone to read and to say that some ages can not read is not always the best thing. I am just focusing on how my reading of this book went.
I too was left feeling very confused about this book. I can see how small children like this book from an illustration stand point the pictures are very interesting, however even I had a hard time figuring out what main theme of the story was. I think that post modern fiction stories like these are meant to not only intrigue the child but also the adult who is reading them the story. Perhaps books like Voices in the Park are meant to help parents talk with their children about issues that are difficult for them to understand. Many of the stories I read as a child didn’t have hidden messages like the ones in Voices in the Park. Then again I have not read any of my childhood books in over 10 years so for all I know they could have hidden messages perhaps I was just too young to ever notice. With or without these messages in children’s books they are all important life lessons that we will all one day learn. So if the question is do I think such messages are important in children’s books my answer is yes, simply because chances are children are not going to pick up on these hidden messages and if they do chances are they are old enough and are searching for answers. In class we talked about if it was appropriate for children to learn such adult topics from children’s books? I think that children only see what they want to see if they are looking for such messages in books they will find them. If they are oblivious to these messages then they will not notice them in the books they read.
I agree that Voices in the Park, and other postmodern books, can be confusing. I believe they are written to make you think and question your previous views and ideas on society. Children most likely enjoy Voices in the Park for its creative pictures and storyline. Most students can relate to playing at a park and meeting other children. Therefore, I don’t think they would become discouraged.
When you were a child did you get frustrated after reading stories such as The Giving Tree? Of course not, you were more interested with the pictures and plot. However, when we analyzed the story in class, we saw many different meanings within the story. I do not think children are necessarily looking for the deeper meaning when reading. At that age, reading is normally for recreation. Sometimes, I think it’s sad that as we get older we are taught to analyze our literature. What happened to simply reading for entertainment?
Browne’s work, Voices in the Park does bring up numerous questions in regards to how readers should interpret the story. Especially, young readers may find the story a bit too informative within the social issues that are indirectly portrayed in the story. But personally, I believe young readers experiencing postmodern literature is not a bad idea when they have been well introduced about the issues carefully beforehand in order for them to interpret the story on their own.
There is a story written by Ann McGovern, The Lady in the Box, and this picture book introduces the different social classes structured in the society: low and high. For young readers who are living under parents’ bubbles, the idea about people living in a box and surviving to not freeze to death may be harsh and cruel to understand. However, if a book like The Lady in the Box is well read and explained to the readers in understanding the reality of life, the readers would be learning through the book about the people’s differences in life.
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