[Compilation] Topics you can try to discuss with your children about “Tunnel”

From Chil­dren Read­ing Pic­tures:
inter­pret­ing visu­al texts by Eve­lyn Arizpe and Mor­ag Styles
(Excerpt from Chil­dren Read­ing Pic­tures: Inter­pret­ing Visu­al Texts, edit­ed by British researchers Eve­lyn Arizpe and Mor­ag Styles)

Inter­view ques­tions for the Tun­nel
Dis­cussing the issues sur­round­ing “Tun­nel”: (Note: The author of “Chil­dren Read­ing Pic­tures” used inter­views with chil­dren, group dis­cus­sions, and fol­low-up vis­its sev­er­al months lat­er. The sub­jects were pri­mar­i­ly between the ages of 5 and 12. The pur­pose of the study was to exam­ine chil­dren’s abil­i­ty to inter­pret nar­ra­tives in pic­tures.)

1. Does the cov­er make you want to read the book? Why?
Does see­ing the cov­er make you want to read this book? Why?

2. Tell me about the end­pa­pers.
Let’s talk about but­ter­fly pages.

3. [spread with sis­ter in bed] Tell me about this pic­ture.
[Spread of sis­ter on bed] Tell us about this scene.

4. [spread in junk­yard] Tell me about the dif­fer­ences between the
broth­er and sis­ter. What does this pic­ture tell us about both of
them? Why?
[Spread of a scrap pile] Tell me what the dif­fer­ence is between the broth­er and sis­ter. What does this image tell us about them? Why?

5. [spreads where broth­er and sis­ter go into tun­nel] Is there
any­thing you want to tell me about these pic­tures?
[Sev­er­al spreads of images show­ing the broth­er and sis­ter enter­ing the tun­nel one after anoth­er] Do you have any­thing to say about these images?

6. [2 spreads of for­est] Is there any­thing strange about these
pic­tures? What do they make you think of? Can you see any ani­mals
in the for­est? Why is there an ax? Who do you think has nailed the
strips of wood to that tree/lit that fire/lives in that
cot­tage?
[Two spreads in the for­est]
Is there any­thing strange about these images? What strikes you as odd? Are there any ani­mals in this for­est? Why is there an axe there? Who do you think nailed those logs to the tree (the hol­low one)? Who lit the fire? Who lives in that cab­in?

7. How does it make you feel when
the sis­ter res­cues the broth­er? Why is there a ring of stones
around the boy? Why does it dis­ap­pear and reap­pear as a ring of
daisies?
How did you feel when the sis­ter saved her broth­er? Why was there a cir­cle of stones sur­round­ing the boy? Why did the cir­cle of stones dis­ap­pear and reap­pear as a cir­cle of daisies?

8. Why are the chil­dren smil­ing at each oth­er on the final
page?
On the last page, why are the two chil­dren look­ing at each oth­er and smil­ing?

9. Tell me more about the foot­ball and book on the final end­pa­pers.
Is this the same as the front end­pa­per? Why not?
On the back but­ter­fly page, there’s a foot­ball and a book. Let’s talk more about this pic­ture. Is it the same as the pre­vi­ous but­ter­fly page? Why is it dif­fer­ent?

10. Does The Tun­nel remind you of
any oth­er pic­ture­books? If so, which? Have you seen any oth­er books
by Antony Browne? Have you seen The Tun­nel before or is it new to
you?
Does “Tun­nel” remind you of any oth­er pic­ture books? If so, which ones? Have you read oth­er books by Antho­ny Brown? Have you read “Tun­nel” before? Is this your first time read­ing it?

11. What is your favorite pic­ture? Could you show me how you read
it?
Which image is your favorite? Can you demon­strate how you read it?

12. Would you describe The Tun­nel as a good book? Why?
Would you say The Tun­nel is a good book? Why?

13. Do you think the pic­tures are well done? Is Antho­ny Browne a
good artist? Why?
Do you think the illus­tra­tions in the book are well done? Is Antho­ny Brown a good artist? Why or why not?

14. Which do you like best: cartoons/films/videos/comics/computer
games/other? Do any of those things help you with read­ing pic­tures
in a pic­ture­book?
What are your favorite things: cartoons/movies/videos/comics/computer games/others? Do you think these things would be help­ful when read­ing pic­tures in pic­ture books?

15. Did you notice any­thing spe­cial about how Antho­ny Browne used
colour, body lan­guage, per­spec­tive?
Have you ever noticed any­thing spe­cial about Antho­ny Brown’s use of col­or, body lan­guage, and per­spec­tive?

16. Do you find the words or the pic­tures more inter­est­ing? Do they
tell the same sto­ry in dif­fer­ent ways? Would the words still be
good with­out the pic­tures? Would the pic­tures still be good with­out
the words?
Which do you find more inter­est­ing, the text or the pic­tures? Do they tell a sto­ry in dif­fer­ent ways? Would the text still be good with­out the pic­tures? Would the pic­tures still be good with­out the text?

17. Is there any­thing else you would like to tell me about the
book?
Is there any­thing else you would like to share about this book?

(Anoth­er set of sup­ple­men­tary ques­tions)
1. How do the end­pa­pers take you into the sto­ry?
How do the but­ter­fly pages draw you into the sto­ry?

2. Why do you think Antho­ny Browne chose to draw things that remind
us of fairy tales?
Why do you think Antho­ny Browne draws illus­tra­tions that remind us of fairy tales?

3. Why does Rose look so hap­py at the end?
Why does Ruth (the younger sis­ter) look so hap­py at the end?