Voices in the Park

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There is some disagreement about the origins of the numerous variations of the name Smith. The addition of an e at the end of the name is sometimes considered an affectation, but may have arisen either as an attempt to spell smithy or as the Middle English adjectival form of smith, which would have been used in surnames based on location rather than occupation (in other words, for someone living near or at the smithy). Wikipedia summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas Why do you think Anthony Browne chose a park as the setting? Would a different setting affect the attitude and behaviour of the characters?

Did you learn more about each character as you read the book? How did your opinion of each character change? Drawing on elements of a Celtic ghost story, this delectably well told tale has pitch-perfect prose matched by illustrations that seem imbued with mist and moonlight. When a superstitious, wealthy Continue reading » Gr 2-What makes Voices in the Park (Transworld Publishers, 1998) so very interesting is its use of insightful humor both in the text and in the illustrations. The book is comprised of one story Continue reading » Jeremy has it all, or so it seems, while Sam does not have a new bike, a new football or money for a whole bag of sweets. Jeremy keeps showing off and bragging about his good fortune, but Sam is Continue reading » A father tells his son that "things [are] going to change," as the boy watches the teakettle turn into a striped cat, the spout of the sink become a nose, and a soccer ball lose its Continue reading »continuing to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks

Living with her struggling actor/waiter parents, the fourth-grade heroine of this witty novel knows that the only sure thing is change: her family has moved half a dozen times already, most recently Continue reading » Notice how the children are given different types of names. The rich boy’s name is the name of royalty, of public school educated white boys, typically. Charles is being acculturated into a patriarchal system in which he will enjoy power but also be repressed by its expectations. Below he literally and metaphorically stands in the shadow of the (bowler hat wearing) patriarchy. He already understands the gender hierarchy and that he is at the top of it. He is initially dismissive that he has to play with a girl, and then he accepts that she is good at using the play equipment. Note the distinction between sexism and misogyny: Charles may have had the sexism removed, but there’s no indication that he’ll be free of misogyny just because he’s learned girls can be good at things, too. ( Sexism and misogyny are not the same — and the difference matters.) SMUDGE SMITH In a mythic narrative voice accompanied by primitive images, McDonald (Is This a House for Hermit Crab?) describes a mysterious old woman who sifts sand to find bones. Readers can almost hear a Continue reading »

house and garden With the press-out pieces of a new series of playtime cum vocabulary-building books, children can pop muffins into the oven (in Play Kitchen) or, with a hoe from the potting shed, Continue reading »