Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne

I became interested in this book after reading about it in the article titled "Supporting Critical Conversations in Classrooms".  The book is about a day spent in the park but it is told from the perspective of four different people. A father & daughther and a mother & son. 
The issue of classism appears in the book because the mother/son come from a wealthier family and the father/daughter from a lower income family. One way the author portrays this is through how the characters are dressed and the background settings of the home and neighborhood.  However, classism also appears in the 'voices' of the adult characters.  The mother is quick to judge others in the park using adjectives such as scruffy, frightful, rough-looking which imply that she is looking down on them.  The dad is critical but more about himself and his life and mentions being jobless.  Also class differences can be seen in comparing the language/grammar use of these two characters.

With the children's voices, classism is less apparent although there is definately judgement. The boy is disappointed at first that his playmate is 'unfortunately a girl' and the girl thinks that the boy is 'a wimp' and his mom is a 'silly twit'.  So its really interesting to see how even the children are quick to judge based on first impressions, however their opinions quickly change as they play and have fun together.

What I loved most about the book was how the illustrations enhanced the differences between the perspectives. Often details in the background would give clues about some of the 'unsaid' emotions.  For example, when the mother is speaking about leaving the park with her son there is a picture of a burning tree in the background which could represent the mom's anger/frustration at her son for running off.  The girl's perspective is interesting because her's is the happiest out of the four characters. So when the story is told in her voice the background is bright with color and fun shapes. The emotions shown in the book also connect to classism because the wealthier characters are not the happier ones which implies that happiness has more to do with perspective than money and such.

I think this is a great children's book because it addresses a lot of issues in a fun way.  Its a book that you could read several times and find something new. What I think is most valuable is that it shows how differently people think and experience certain events.  This is a great basis for class discussion to help children begin to understand that not everyone thinks or sees things the same way as they do.