When you wrote the book, were you aware of these conversations? How do you feel your book adds to the conversation? People also will say that it is uncommon to find many picture books starring animals, written by Black creators. Often, books starring animals are held up as problematic because so many more picture books star animals than BIPOC characters in a given year.
The idea that kids not only need to see reflections of themselves in the books that they read, but windows only other lives as well. Rudine Sims discussion of windows and mirrors. And suddenly the thought came rushing back to me and everything fell into place.īB: I’m sure you’re familiar with the Dr. This uneasy thought was floating around in my head for years, but I wasn’t really thinking about it when one day I wrote down a few words that felt mythological, folklorish, about a small creature that felt very alone in the world. I am not an essayist or historian, but I am a storyteller. It didn’t feel like a particularly safe thought to express, so whatever I did with it, I wanted to be careful. I was thinking long and hard about this and how to communicate it. The only claim I have to Africa is the color of my skin. I cannot tell you what nation or even what region my people are from.
It is hard to feel at home in America, and yet Africa is not home either. That thought was about how easy it is to feel untethered as a Black American, without a sense of “home.” Here in America, we live on stolen land, our ancestors brought here against their will, and to this day so many who live here see us as a blight on society. Nilah Magruder: I’d been turning over a thought in my head for a long time.
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