This picture book combines text by well-known writer Walter
Dean Myers and collages by Ann Grifalconi. 
It tells one soldier’s story of his time in Vietnam. He is in the jungle, facing a hidden enemy,
and he is full of fear. After an
attack, he calls in planes to drop bombs. 
Then they raid a village, and point their guns at old people and
babies. Even the Vietnamese with guns
are young, and the soldier comes into eye contact with another soldier, and
they freeze. A chopper passes over,
interrupting the moment, and the young Vietnamese solder runs off. The book does not show death or glory, but
instead emphasizes how tired the soldier is of the war, and how he misses
people at home.

The most interesting aspect of Patrol
is the artwork, mixing painting and photographs, which are in color and are
also in negative form. They manage to convey
a sense of altered consciousness, the radical otherness of these strange
surroundings, and the soldier’s sense of alienation.

Patrol might
be appropriate for young children who have questions about Vietnam; it will
give them a perspective on the way, some sense of what kind of place Vietnam
is, the plants and animals one might see there, and the danger of war. It certainly won’t answer all their
questions, but it could be a good place to start.

© 2002 Christian Perring. First Serial Rights.

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is
Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is
editor of Metapsychology Online Review. His main research is on
philosophical issues in psychiatry. He is especially interested in exploring
how philosophers can play a greater role in public life, and he is keen to help
foster communication between philosophers, mental health professionals, and the
general public.

Categories: Children, ArtAndPhotography