Anthony Browne

Anthony Browne  

                                     

During one of the seminars, I presented to the class a summary of the book named ‘The Tunnel’. I included all the techniques he has used in this story and the messages that he sends across. Gender is believed to play an important role in shaping students' ability self-concepts (Eccles et.al quoted in Retelsdorf, J, 2000-2006). I noticed that the aim of the story is to represent the roles of males and females. He uses the theme of stereotyping boys as superior to girls. It projects the role of females liking the activities of reading, writing and cooking in contrast to boys having enjoyment from playing outside, exploring and running. Browne also mentions how girls’ cognitive thinking is alternative to boys’; claiming that the girl in the story stays up thinking at night and is worried about goblins and witches. She is also being cautious and sensible, knowing about the consequences. Whereas the boy sleeps without any worries, is very irresponsible and is not aware of the consequences that could happen in the future. Towards the end of the story, I realised how the roles had changed between the siblings, where the girl became more superior to the boy and they both accepted their differences. These factors comprise cultural gender roles that prescribe certain behaviors as appropriate or inappropriate for males or females, as well as gender stereotypes. Moreover, the behaviors and beliefs of significant others, such as peers, parents, and teachers, play an important role in shaping students' self-concepts. I had also noticed that he included the story of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ in this book and he emphasised the characters to make it clear that he was linking it to the story.  

Another example of a powerful book created by Anthony Browne is known as ‘Gorillas’. This book was the most popular one that Browne had written and was very intriguing to possibly older children and young adults. I had discovered that the colours represented how dark the little girl's life was in the story because her father did not want to visit the zoo with her. At the very end of the book it was discovered that the visit to the zoo with the gorilla was only a dream, and that the animal in the picture was her father, as the gorilla was wearing his clothes.   

                                                

 Here is an example of the colours that Browne uses in this story known as visual literacy in which the reader can figure out the story within the illustrations. Hamilton and Weiss (2005, p.xvi)  suggests that ‘the listeners actively participate by creating their own individual stories – tales filled with images, feelings, colours, sounds and other details that are their alone’. It can represent emotion and possibly reveal the story behind what is being told. Reading between the lines can cause a drastic effect on the way children interpret stories. Her father did not seem to pay her any attention, and the importance of her needs were unrecogniseable. Whereas, in the other picture, the girl is spending time with her favourite animal, and colours are presented in the picture with a range of food suggesting that is not what she is used to. This is due to the fact that in the first picture, she is only drinking a glass of milk, whereas in the second, she has all the food she dreams of.  

‘Browne has always been interested in dreams, symbols and transformations because they help him explore the emotional landscape of a book and make deeper connections with his readers’ (Carey Fluker Hunt,2014). There are many techniques used in the books authorised by Anthony Browne which include picturing animals as humans or objects. For example, there are lots of objects pictured as the gorilla in the book ‘Gorillas’, representing that the girl relates and pictures her life with the gorilla. This technique allows the reader to use their imagination to a greater extent. (Helms, Eleanor D, 2015) recognises this in storytelling and suggests we have confidence that appearances could be further determined from new angles and other points of view. In other words, though particular aspects are all that we see, in the ordinary perception of objects we understand that these different appearances are not all that exist. He also uses references and pictures that link to other stories, such as Hansel and Gretel, Narnia, Red riding hood, Cinderella and many other stories. This allows the reader to become intrigued in his stories because they may feel that they can relate to, or are able to recognise the stories that he links them to. Browne uses the techniques of using short and catchy sentences to attract the reader’s attention and to embrace the story’s purpose.  

  

Reference list  

Carey Fluker Hunt (2014) KS2 Book Topic: Develop Visual Literacy And Explore The Surreal With Anthony Browne.Available at: https://www.teachwire.net/news/ks2-book-topic-develop-visual-literacy-and-explore-the-surreal-with-anthony (accessed: 22/04/19) 

Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-132. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153  

Hamilton, M., & Weiss, M. (1990). Children tell stories: A teaching guide. New York: RC Owen PublishersReletsdorf, J, Asbrock, F, Schwartz, K (2015) Journal of Educational Psychology, Volume 107(1), p 186-194 

Helms, Eleanor D (2015) CLOSED DRAWERS AND HIDDEN FACES: ARENDT'S KANTIAN DEFENSE OF FICTIONAL WORLDS Vol. 39, Iss. 1A,