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I am extremely disturbed by the images in this book. According to the synopsis, apes are portrayed in human clothing. In the next sentence, however, the animals are referred to as "woman", "boy", "man", etc. There is a longstanding history within America of portraying African-Americans as "apes", "gorillas", and "monkeys". This book is a distressing perpetuation of that negative stereotype--exacerbated by the fact that the White characters in the book are portrayed as human and seemingly normal. I think the intended messages of hope and optimism are lost in the negative images (homeless Santa, the "scruffy-looking child", and the jobless man). My 6-year old son brought this book home from the school library, and I am just happy that I happened to read it before he did. The majority of White America probably "doesn't get it". There are an enlightened few that do get, however, how these images impact an individual's mentality. And I promise you that any African American would definitely "get it"--the fact that these images are wrong and they send the wrong messages to kids.
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unhappymother has commented on (1) product.
Voices in the Park (DK Ink) by Anthony Browne
unhappymother, November 21, 2007
I am extremely disturbed by the images in this book. According to the synopsis, apes are portrayed in human clothing. In the next sentence, however, the animals are referred to as "woman", "boy", "man", etc. There is a longstanding history within America of portraying African-Americans as "apes", "gorillas", and "monkeys". This book is a distressing perpetuation of that negative stereotype--exacerbated by the fact that the White characters in the book are portrayed as human and seemingly normal. I think the intended messages of hope and optimism are lost in the negative images (homeless Santa, the "scruffy-looking child", and the jobless man). My 6-year old son brought this book home from the school library, and I am just happy that I happened to read it before he did. The majority of White America probably "doesn't get it". There are an enlightened few that do get, however, how these images impact an individual's mentality. And I promise you that any African American would definitely "get it"--the fact that these images are wrong and they send the wrong messages to kids.(2 of 34 readers found this comment helpful)