Opinion | Between the lines: illustrator Anthony Browne creates a classic on a theme

Experienced artists who have mastered their craft may squirm when they look back at their early work. A musician's live performances or an actor's first couple of films might be difficult to watch. Regardless of how great the innate talent, artists often need time and experience to develop and mature their art.

This also applies to creators of children's picture books. Award-winning author-illustrator Anthony Browne felt that dissatisfaction when he re-read A Walk in the Park, a book he had written and illustrated 20 years earlier. It nagged at him, and he didn't know what to do. Just as actors and directors do not remake their own movies, Browne didn't want to rewrite his own picture book.

Instead, he created a unique variation on the story of A Walk in the Park, and the result was his best-selling picture book, Voices in the Park.

A Walk in the Park tells the story of a father and daughter, Mr Smith and Smudge, who take their dog to the park. There, they share a bench with a mother and son, Mrs Smythe and Charles, also on a walk with their dog. The neighbourhoods they live in, how they dress and their body language make it obvious these two families have very different backgrounds.

First the dogs run around together, and soon the children start to play together.

However, the two parents never acknowledge each other, and eventually they call out to tell their children that it's time to go home.