Quick thread on some of my work on children's books:
Beyond the Secret Garden Articles written with @ksandsoconnor for @BooksForKeeps
booksforkeeps.co.uk/member/darren-… @ksandsoconnor @BooksForKeeps ‘You Can’t Say That!’ Darren’s Chapter from The Good Immigrant
academia.edu/28762595/_You_…

We often centre Black and brown children in our arguments for more inclusive children’s literature.

We say that it is important for children to see people like themselves in the books they read.

Our critics say this is just another case of modern-day narcissism. Sure, if Black and brown kids grew up ONLY seeing books featuring people like them, there might be something to think about there. But they don’t. Not even close.

Watched The Secret Garden film. Like many illustrated versions of the book, it tries to dodge the racism within the original story. Indian people don’t speak in the film - but nor are they slapped or described as ‘not people’. Not altogether clear why the shift from the height of colonialism to the moment of independence. It allows Misselthwaite Manor to be a place where British soldiers recuperated in WWII.

"Historical fiction aimed at children, and often relating to National Curriculum History topics, appears to be growing in popularity. There is a challenge to make the children’s novel – often personal and intimate – speak to broader social concerns ..." History, it is often said, is written by the winners. More and more now, however, history is being written by the survivors—including those whose ancestors fomented that “native unrest” against the empire.

Let's remember that Black people, indigenous people and people of colour were represented in many of the 'classic' British children's books. This is important. Why? A few thoughts to follow... First, it means that when we frame our calls for better representation as an issue of 'inclusion' we risk erasing the long history of representations of BIPOC, the legacy of which is still felt in children's publishing.

Musa @Okwonga's Raheem Sterling (2020) is part of Scholastic’s Football Legends series. Sterling’s journey to the very top of professional football provides ample material for a story that would interest a football fan – but Okwonga’s text deserves an even broader readership. @Okwonga @sterling7 Okwonga focuses on the drama and emotion of Sterling’s journey from a child in Jamaica to a schoolboy kicking a ball a short distance from Wembley Stadium to a man scoring a hat-trick for England inside the stadium.

2019 has been a great year for children's & YA books by and about 'BAME' people / PoC and there is a sense that some of the initiatives of the past few years are just beginning to impact UK children’s publishing. By way of example, two authors who were first featured in 2017’s A Change Is Gonna Come (Stripes) had superb debuts - @aishabushby's magical middle-grade A Pocketful of Stars (Egmont), and @YasminwithanE YA tale of friendship and survival All The Things We Never Said (Hot Key).