Colour-blind
Had a nice time chatting about childrens' books on the CBC the other day - the time always flies by. Angus Byers of Montreal's fantastic Babar Books was there, as was Kathy Conroy of the Eleanor London Public Library. After making our own recommendations, we answered questions from callers.
One interesting query was about picture books with non-white protaganists. We talked about books like Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch, but one that occurred to me was Edward and the Lucky Eureka Wish Company by Barbara Todd with illustrations by Patricia Storms. I found it interesting that Edward's race was in no way a factor in the story being told and that the choice made by the illustrator could well be an example of what in theatre or film would be called colour-blind casting.
I was curious enough that I fired off an email to Toronto illustrator Patricia Storms and got the following reply.
And yes, Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company is fun - check it out. Meanwhile, I'm wondering if anyone out there can think of other examples where the skin colour of the child in a picture book isn't directly related to the story being told but is just who they are.
One interesting query was about picture books with non-white protaganists. We talked about books like Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch, but one that occurred to me was Edward and the Lucky Eureka Wish Company by Barbara Todd with illustrations by Patricia Storms. I found it interesting that Edward's race was in no way a factor in the story being told and that the choice made by the illustrator could well be an example of what in theatre or film would be called colour-blind casting.
I was curious enough that I fired off an email to Toronto illustrator Patricia Storms and got the following reply.
"That's interesting, your thoughts about Edward. I have wondered about it myself. You are the first person to bring up the subject, though. To date, no one who has seen the book has made any comment to me about the colour of the boy's skin. All I hear is that it looks like a fun book (phew!). I'm inclined to think that this is a good thing, because it means that so far, the question has not been asked (out loud, anyway) as to why wasn't the boy white instead of dark skinned."
And yes, Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company is fun - check it out. Meanwhile, I'm wondering if anyone out there can think of other examples where the skin colour of the child in a picture book isn't directly related to the story being told but is just who they are.
Comments
We both agreed that the beautiful stories by Ezra Jack Keats fit that category. Does the race of the child in 'The Snowy Day' really matter, or 'Goggles' or any of his other tales? I don't think so. An interesting aspect about race regarding Keats...it was only a few years ago that I found out about his actual background. All these years I had just assumed he as African American.
I'm going to keep my eye out next time in the library. Very interesting to think about.
I wonder how much children notice this too. As someone who was a pasty-faced child that probably identified with Frances the badger as much as any other picture book character, it seems an interesting question.