In the Spring of 2014, I had an opportunity to visit Italy for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. The fair takes place annually for publishers, authors, illustrators, and other interested parties to network, view new and upcoming books, and participate in workshops. As a student in a Library Science program with a strong interest in children's literature, you can likely imagine how overwhelmed I felt as I walked the exhibit halls filled with tables and displays covered with children's books from almost every country in the world. It was absolutely amazing to see books in their native language beautifully covered with colorful and interesting artwork unlike anything that I had seen before.
Although I enjoyed my time ooohing and aaaahing at the book displays, I had an academic purpose for being there. My assignment was to use the experience and information gathered from the fair to discuss the 'Representation of Africa and Persons of African Descent in International Children's Literature' (a topic that I chose on my own). Walking through each exhibit hall took me on a global journey as I turned the pages of books from Australia, China, France, Canada, Guatemala, Argentina, and every place in between. The publishers' displays were extravagant, with busy workers discussing trends and deals, and not willing to give much attention to an inquisitive student. I decided to start with countries outside of those in the continent of Africa so that I could focus on the level of authenticity in the content and artwork used by non-African nationals. I was thoroughly disappointed to only find a few countries that had books with brown characters, and represented the African continent without the use of jungle environments and wild animals.
Near the end of my search I ventured to the small display area consisting of six African nations. The displays were nothing to write home about and the visitors taking a look at what they had to offer was minimal. However, that did not stop the publishing representatives from being so willing to share their works with me. I had the opportunity to interview a representative from the nation of Togo and another from Ghana. During my interview I discovered that the African presence not being authentically represented or even represented at all was something that they too noticed and wanted to do something about. They sought to change the perception of their countries and its citizens by producing works that all children would love. I browsed comic books, adventure tales, coming-of-age stories, biographies, and a host of other genres that included brown faces while visiting the small exhibit area. I was amazed! First by the level of work that was represented and second by the fact that many exhibit visitors seemed to notice. I knew then that my purpose for being at the event was not simply for an academic assignment, but to fuel my passion for sharing children's literature that included black and brown characters with the world. The lack of representation of brown characters is not just a U.S. problem, but a global problem. I am a firm believer that if you want to change the world that you start with children's literature. Introducing them to a variety of races and nationalities represented in an authentic way in books can help to broaden their world view and hopefully lead to a more tolerant world.
I may not be able to change the world on my own, but I hope that highlighting children's books about and by persons of African descent will be a start. Thank you for taking time to share in this journey with me.
