Pistes d'exploration

Discuss the story. What are ‘the voices’? What visual elements are different for each character? Why does each character tell a different version of the story? Which child in the story would you like to be? Why?

Make a graphic organizer to compare the four characters in the story (e.g. physical descriptions, personality traits, reactions).

With a partner, write and record a conversation between two of the characters in the story.

Choose a situation that you have been in (an argument with a friend, dinner at your house) and write/tell about it from the other person’s point of view.

Discuss the story. What are ‘the voices’? What visual elements are different for each character? Why does each character tell a different version of the story? Which child in the story would you like to be? Why?

Make a graphic organizer to compare the four characters in the story (e.g. physical descriptions, personality traits, reactions).

Write the script of a conversation between two of the characters, on your own or with a partner.

In groups and following the structure of Voices in the Park, write a story that is retold in four voices (e.g. a family outing, a fight at recess). Present it to the class.

In pairs and using teacher-selected resources, create an author/illustrator web for the author. Discuss the web as a class.

In teams of four, create questions (and answers) for specific sections of the book. Once all questions are collated, answer the class quiz.

Think of a specific moment in your life, one that included three or more other people. Imagine how they would perceive it. Write their version of the event.

Black and White, Water in the Park: A Book About Water & the Times of the Day

Mots-clés

Picture book , character , conflict , first-person narration , friendship , multiple narrators , multiple stories , parallel stories , parent-child relationships , perspectives , point of view , prejudice , setting , structures and features

Commentaire descriptif

Four voices take turns narrating this story of an outing to the park: a boy named Charles, his wealthy mother, a girl named Smudge and her unemployed father. Each character is portrayed as an ape in human clothing, with individual feelings and personalities. And each one experiences the same event, but differently. For example, the snooty mother reacts to a man and his “scruffy mongrel” abrasively: “You get some frightful types in the park these days!” Yet later, we hear the same man, who has been unsuccessful in finding a job, say optimistically, “you've got to have a little hope….” Vibrant, postmodern-style illustrations offer additional insights into meaning, including visual techniques meant to emphasize the differing points of view: each version employs a different font, colour palette, weather and season. The characterization of children who transcend gender stereotypes and the intersection of the different social classes in this story will offer thought-provoking discussion.