海角大神

In 1962, a little boy named Peter woke up to a world full of snow. Putting on an orange snowsuit, the little boy ran outside: 鈥淐runch, crunch, crunch, his feet sank into the snow.鈥� Thus begins聽The Snowy Day, the 1962 picture book written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. This March marks the 50th anniversary of the Caldecott Medal-winning story that has enchanted readers for decades.

Peter鈥檚 wondrous day full of snow angels and snowballs is something so many children can relate to. Peter is also African American. And with this quiet, yet significant illustrative decision, made in the midst of the Civil Rights movement, Keats鈥檚 book became the first full-color, mainstream picture book to feature a black boy as the main character.

A critical 鈥� if not uncontroversial 鈥� success, Keats received letters from fans across the country, including the poet Langston Hughes, who wrote that he wished he had some grandchildren to give the story to. One reviewer in聽The Baltimore Sun聽commented, 鈥淭he fact that the artist has pictured Peter as a Negro child, quite without making any particular point of it, is a pleasant surprise.鈥�

The character of Peter was based off a set of photos clipped from a 1940 issue of聽Life聽magazine. For 22 years, Keats kept those photos on his wall, hoping to be asked to illustrate a book about such a boy. But it wasn鈥檛 until he decided finally to write a book himself was he able to use them.

Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, is careful to point out Keats wasn鈥檛 trying to make a big statement.聽

鈥淗e made the hero black, because he was there,鈥� Pope said. 鈥淓zra grew up in a city where as we know there is the broadest range of humanity. And so this boy was there, and so he put him in the book. It wasn鈥檛 anything really more complicated than that.鈥澛�

Pope was 10 years old when聽The Snowy Day聽first came out. The daughter of Keats鈥� boyhood best friend, she said she took for granted the work of her Uncle Ezra for many years 鈥� until she had children. 鈥淎nd then I understood,鈥� she said. As head of the foundation, Pope has devoted her life to using the late illustrator鈥檚 royalties to promote and support the work of librarians, teachers and aspiring artists who continue in the tradition of Keats.

In particular, the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Awards, announced annually in April, embody this commitment. The awards celebrate 鈥減eople at the beginning of their careers, creating beautiful books, about children of every sort, so that children of every sort can see themselves in the book,鈥� Pope said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very important that these not be cause books. They are books that say, this is a great story. It鈥檚 not that we鈥檙e all equal, it鈥檚 not that we鈥檙e all the same. We just are.鈥澛�

Keats鈥� work has also been cited as the inspiration behind some of today鈥檚 most decorated authors and illustrators. Bryan Collier, whose intricate watercolor and collage creations have been honored with multiple Caldecott Medals and Coretta Scott King Awards, as well as an Ezra Jack Keats Award, remembers his mother bringing home a copy of聽The Snowy Day聽when he was just four or five years old.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what it was,鈥� Collier said, 鈥渂ut when I saw that boy Peter, he looked like me. I was like, Wow!鈥�

Growing up as the youngest of six during the often snowy winters of Maryland, Collier said he knew exactly how Peter felt watching the 鈥漛ig boys鈥� having their snow ball fights.聽The Snowy Day聽had subconsciously planted a seed inside of him, Collier said. For 10 years that seed waited, while Collier dreamed of playing professional basketball like the great Dr. J. But one day the 15-year old hoops fan stumbled into a freshman art class, and the seed was finally ignited. 鈥淚t was an impact, it was visceral. You just feel it,鈥� he said.鈥�

Just like the feeling of that first art class, Collier said America felt a bit of a spark with the publishing of the landmark picture book. 鈥淚 think it put so much greatness into the world, a sense of diversity,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t unveiled something that was always there. The jolt was that the rest of the world, the publishing world, didn鈥檛 get it. They didn鈥檛 really get it until they saw it.鈥�

The Snowy Day聽was awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1963, the same year that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his iconic 鈥淚 Have a Dream Speech鈥� from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

鈥淭his was a very difficult time in America,鈥� Pope said. 鈥淚t was a time of the real strengthening, the emerging of the Civil Rights movement as a truly strong movement.鈥�

But nearly a half-century later, a serious void continues to exist in the world of children鈥檚 literature. In terms of minority representation, there鈥檚 definitely still work to be done, Collier said.聽

As the director of the Cooperative Children鈥檚 Book Center at the University Wisconsin-Madison鈥檚 School of Education, Kathleen Horning has been keeping track of such representation since the mid-1980s.聽

Out of all the 2,500 trade books published for children and teens by trade presses in 1985, Horning and the CCBC were shocked to find only 18 were written or illustrated by African Americans. 鈥淓ven publishers were surprised the number was so low,鈥� Horning said. 鈥淭he only people who weren鈥檛 surprised were African American parents and teachers, who didn鈥檛 find it at all surprising.鈥�

In 1995, the CCBC found that out of 4,500 total books published, only 100 books written by African Americans, and 167 written about (without taking into account any probable overlap). And there鈥檚 been little statistical change since. Books written by and about other minority groups are even harder to find.

鈥淪ince really the early 90s, the number has really stagnated,鈥� Horning said. Even when you can find books featuring African American characters, they generally fall into two specific categories, she said: historical narratives from the 19th century, or stories about Civil Rights leaders.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to find books about contemporary African American children, especially for children鈥檚 books, especially for young children,鈥� Horning said. 鈥淏oys are the biggest challenge. So a book like聽The Snowy Day聽聽would still be unusual today, unfortunately. It would still would stand out, for the simple fact that it鈥檚 about a contemporary African American boy, a timeless story, with an African American representing a boy any child could identify with.鈥�

The problem is not a decrease in demand, Horning said. In fact, anecdotally she believes it鈥檚 increasing. The problem now stems more from a business, rather than sociological, perspective.聽

鈥淚t used to be that schools and libraries were a bigger force, but with cuts to funding, they don鈥檛 have the buying power the had 20 years ago,鈥� Horning said. 鈥淭he influence is on what will sell in the bookstore. And that can have an impact on what gets published.鈥�

Barring a surprise re-funding of public libraries, Horning said people need to advocate with their wallets. 鈥淏uy the books,鈥� she said. 鈥淧rove the people who are saying black books don鈥檛 sell wrong.鈥�

One person who certainly wouldn鈥檛 mind such a consumer resurgence is Cheryl Hudson, a mother, author, and the co-founder of Just Us Books, a small New Jersey press focused solely on black-interest books for children. Along with her husband Wade, Hudson has been seeking out her niche manuscripts for 25 years. 鈥淲e were parents and professionals, but we said if nobody else is going to do it, we鈥檙e going to do it for our own kids,鈥� Hudson said.

When the Hudsons set up shop, they knew of over 300 black book stores. Now they deal with fewer than 50. Every day is a challenge, especially in terms of marketing and getting the word out about the specialized Just Us Books titles list.聽

鈥淲hen we first started we had so much excitement about what we were doing,鈥� Hudson said. 鈥淪ome marketers think the only time people read anything about black people is in February, in Black History month. Which is not true. But marketers are creatures of habit.鈥澛�

Children specifically need to see themselves in their favorite books, Hudson said, to have that 鈥淲ow鈥� moment Bryan Collier experienced reading聽The Snowy Day聽for the first time.聽

鈥淎ll children love to see themselves, in a book or photograph or even a photo album, it鈥檚 an affirmation that you are of value,鈥� Hudson said. 鈥淭hey need to see themselves in a positive way, not as happy slaves, but as African American children who brush their teeth and brush their hair, who have problems, and loves and laughs and dreams.鈥澛�

But Hudson is not discouraged. 鈥淲e wish it were easier. We fought some battles 40 years ago that we thought were solved,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are little peaks of light. But we have to be vigilant about keeping the word out.鈥�

Recently, some of the larger publishers have also taken notice of the issue. The Children鈥檚 Books Council recently formed a new Diversity Committee 鈥渄edicated to increasing the diversity of voices and experiences contributing to children鈥檚 literature.鈥� Co-chair Alvina Ling, the Editorial Director at Little, Brown, said she is encouraged by what she sees as a positive trend in general awareness of the problem.

鈥淚 feel very optimistic,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ooks about diverse characters are just naturally going to succeed more and more. I think that if that weren鈥檛 the case it would be more of an uphill battle. But I think everything is on our side, it鈥檚 just going to take a while. Children鈥檚 books backlist really well. The list just keeps growing and growing."聽

础蹿迟别谤听The Snowy Day鈥檚聽publication, Ezra Jack Keats experienced his share of critics, despite its general popularity. 鈥淚 think various people were very worried their voice was being co-opted,鈥� Deborah Pope said.

Eventually, however, time brought understanding.

鈥淭he people who criticized him calmed down, because they saw the book was doing a good thing, not a bad thing. That it was being embraced across ethnic and social lines. And that it was bringing joy to the lives of many children,鈥� she said聽

Translated into at least 10 languages,聽The Snowy Day聽continues this mission to this day. 鈥淏ecause,鈥� Pope explained, as anyone who鈥檚 ever brought home a snowball could tell you, 鈥渦ltimately there is no color to put on children鈥檚 experience of snow.鈥�

Meredith Bennett-Smith is a Monitor correspondent.