The corpus would not be complete without this classic work by Jeannie Baker, a British-Australian author whose work using collage often interacts with themes pertinent to the DIALLS Project. One of the oldest picturebooks in the corpus, Belonging won several international picturebook awards when it was published in 2004.
The visual narrative depicts a changing street in an urban area from the perspective of a bedroom window overlooking a garden and the world beyond. The story cleverly has multiple avenues of inquiry for its readers; we can consider the role of the family, as the house provides a place for the child to grow and explore, and we can consider the role of the families beyond our immediate line of vision.
How many people share this space? How many people can this space reliably look after?
In connection to this, The prominent depiction of advertising in the text opens a discussion of brands, money, consumerism, and power.
