Reading Voices in the Park, by Anthony Browne: a study of reception by children from different contexts

Abstract

Picture books, in English, libros-álbum, in Spanish and livros ilustrados, in Brazilian Portuguese, are a recent type of children books that present a close association between written texts and pictures so that the narrative is constructed from a symbiosis between them (Van der Linden, Nikolajeva & Scott, Salisbury & Styles). Anthony Browne, who is one of the most renowned contemporary writers of this genre, wrote Voices in the park, in which one single everyday scene involving relationships among people cut across by social class and generation issues is narrated by four participating voices. This paper presents the results of a CNPq-supported research project involving reading sessions and discussions (mediated conversation) of literary works. The study aimed to answer the question “How do children read picturebooks?” by analysing and comparing shared reading sessions carried out with fifth-grade students at public schools in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with data from reading sessions at two public schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as reported in Thomson (2016). Both studies — Brazilian and Argentinian research — drew on Chambers (2007; 2008) and other studies on literary reading sharing. The comparative analysis revealed points of contact between the readings in different contexts, especially about: i) the perception of polyphonic structures of the work; ii) the backgrounded social inequality and iii) the unexpectedness of some pictures. Inferences could be drawn about potentialities richness of reading picture books and especially when it includes adequate adult mediation.