Ezra Keats and multicultural picture books...
Today is a very special children’s book icon’s birthday: Ezra Jack Keats‘s. He is widely credited with introducing multiculturalism into mainstream children’s publishing in the US. For over 25 years the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has given an annual award to the best new author and illustrator that represents the “universal qualities of childhood… and the multicultural nature of our world.” In fact, this year’s winners were announced just a few days ago. So today seems especially apt to look back at this wonderful author and illustrator, because what he contributed and represents are the most important elements to me as a reader, lover, and creator of picture books — inclusion and diversity. The book that brought widespread recognition to Keats was The Snowy Day. It is a delightful picture book with an endearing African-American boy (Peter) as its protagonist,...
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