Why we need more books like ‘The Snowy Day’

Illustration © 1962 by Ezra Jack Keats

“…[T]o give young readers who are black, brown, or any sort of different only books about their difference is burdensome. It looks like inclusiveness, but is an insult.”

— Rumaan Alam

I have strong memories of visiting my local public library as a young child.

It was a ten-minute walk away, and we regularly went with my mum. I can remember the pride of owning my own 6 library tokens; of sitting at the low table to read; the quiet hush. Looking back, I wonder about the open-minded librarian who curated the picture book collection. Because it included some real gems, including some quiet, everyday stories featuring a boy called Peter. Set in urban New York, these books were groundbreaking - because Peter is African-American. 

Let me put this into context for you. I grew up in the seventies, in a white community in the Home Counties (UK). It was little more than a village back then, and there was, to my recollection, just one black family. So I find the fact that this small, 1970s’ provincial library contained the work of Ezra Jack Keats - and his character Peter - is quite remarkable. 

There is a severe lack of ethnic representations in children’s books. Diversity, particularly in everyday stories of families and classrooms is lacking. That’s not to devalue or disregard the importance of those books that educate kids about slavery, the civil rights movement, or influential black figures. Or those ‘storybooks with the noble aim of teaching [black] children that their skin, their hair, their noses are beautiful.’

But there is a dire need for picture books where the black protagonist is merely doing what kids do.

Dressing up.

Playing make-believe and taming dragons.

Going to parties, for a walk in the woods or through the neighbourhood.

Stories which work regardless of what the protagonist looks like.

And that’s what Ezra Jack Keats’s picture books do: he casts minority characters as the protagonists. “None of the manuscripts I’d been illustrating featured any black kids—except for token blacks in the background. My book would have [Peter] there simply because he should have been there all along.”

This is such an essential truth for us to embrace. Because children are validated when they see themselves reflected positively in books. It gives them a sense of belonging. Don’t believe me? Then keep reading for a beautiful (and surprising) example of this being borne out.

 

Detail from Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats | Illustration © 1964 by Ezra Jack Keats

Keats is perhaps best known for the book that introduced his character, Peter, to the world: The Snowy Day (1962)

This was during the height of the Civil Rights movement. But despite being recognised with the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book in 1963, Keats was criticised:

 

for tokenism - because he was white;

for not addressing Peter’s race in the text;

for being too integrationist;

for not truly representing or celebrating African-American culture or racial identity.

 

Keats held to his view:

 

It wasn’t important. It wasn’t the point.

 

Ezra Jack Keats’s entry in The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature reads:

 

Keats grew up in urban New York, where his books found their inspiration. The Snowy Day was notable for featuring a young African-American protagonist in the early 1960’s, when racial tensions were rife, and representations of ethnic diversity were scarce.

 

Consider how tragic those facts are:

Racial tensions were rife … representations of ethnic diversity were scarce.

58 years later, not an awful lot has changed.

Racial tensions are still rife. Ethnic diversity in children’s publishing is still scarce.

That’s the point.

Keats’ work is timeless - but for all the wrong reasons.

 

It’s easier to look away and to decide that this is a problem for someone else. It’s actually a problem for all of us.

- Seth Godin

 

Detail from Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats | Illustration © 1964 by Ezra Jack Keats

All children deserve to see themselves reflected in the books they read. It validates them and gives them a sense of belonging, as this revealing quote shared by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation reveals:

 

There was a teacher [who] wrote in to Ezra, saying, ‘The kids in my class, for the first time, are using brown crayons to draw themselves. These are African-American children. Before this, they drew themselves with pink crayons. But now, they can see themselves.

 

Now is the time for those of us working in children’s publishing to push forward into being more inclusive in our representations. We need to ensure that kids of colour see themselves in the books we produce, so that they hear the message: You are important.

Your lives matter.

Find out more about the legacy of Ezra Jack KeatsGood to Read

Everyday Black Kids

The New Small Person by Lauren Child (Puffin 2014)

Only You Can Be You! by by Nathan and Sally Clarkson, ill. by Tim Warnes (Tommy Nelson 2019)

So Much by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (Walker Books 1994)

Leon and Bob by Simon James (Walker Books 2008)

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Viking 1962)

Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love (Walker Books 2018)

 Sources We Don’t Only Need More Diverse Books. We Need More Diverse Books Like The Snowy Day by Rumaan Alam (slate.com, August 02, 2016)The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation 'The Snowy Day': Breaking Color Barriers, Quietly (NPR, January 28, 2012)The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature by Daniel Hahn (Oxford University Press, Second Edition 2015) Without ambiguity: Black Lives Matter by Seth Godin (Seth’s Blog, June 08, 2020)