Emma Mactaggart
We are back to plots and the exploration of story. This hopefully will serve you when you are trying to find a particular book to start a particular conversation with your child. Last month we explored ‘overcoming the monster’ which is perfectly pitched for dealing with fears, or a bully.
As I describe what a ‘voyage and return’ story looks like, I can’t help but think of a child going to school.
The hero travels out of their familiar world into a world completely cut off from the first, where everything seems abnormal. The strangeness may at first be exhilarating, but then, darkness / threat / shadow intrudes. The hero fells increasingly trapped. Usually in thrilling escape, the hero is released from abnormal world and returns safely to world where they began.
Have they learnt anything from their experience?
Have they been fundamentally changed?
A wonderful example of a very gentle version of this plot is ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ as a family sets off to find a bear. There is safety in numbers and who wouldn’t want their parents when looking for a bear! The family travel over many different types of terrain, each scene getting more and more challenging, until they are quickly on their way home again. The characters may merely be exhilarated the experience rather than changed or having learnt anything too deep, but it is a wonderful example of the melody that can be found in a beautifully paced book as well.
‘Luke Calypso Goes to Space’ was created by and for the children at the Queensland Children Hospital School. The children describe going to the hospital school as really exciting at first because there are no uniforms and there are lots of amazing activities, but very quickly, they want to be back at home. They explore the idea of being capable of returning home having experienced a different life, whilst being grateful for the little things.
Anna Walker always is so deft in her treatment of illustrations and writing and it is a joy to share ‘Peggy’ as a wayward chicken who is looking for adventure, for change. She sets off, full of optimism, loving at first all she discovers. Then Peggy is caught up in the frantic pace of the big, wide world is not for her, and she returns home, knowing it is a space in which she is content and happy. There is a moral to this story which is be happy with what you already have!
Finnley’s Adventures was also created by a group of children, this time it was to share a particular message about the impact introduced fish have on native fish stocks and on Australian waterways. It was an important conversation starter for immigrant and refugee families who may perceive the pest fish (tilapia) as a fabulous eating fish and release it into the waterways without completely appreciating the dire consequences. Finnley does find himself in another world, experiences all sorts of different settings, to find himself happily back at home.
Children’s picture books that use the ‘voyage and return’ plot line offer an opportunity for children to explore the magic and mystic of a different world, and to experience the need to be discerning as there are tricksters out there to thwart a hero’s success. When you think of this plot line, you will inevitably be drawn to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ as one of the most extraordinary examples and know that you too have experienced the thrill of the new, the anxiety of being trapped, and then the delightful release that comes from returning to your own normal!
