I haven’t written one of these in a long time. When I had the idea for Story Time posts I thought, maybe, I’d write one of these on a regular interval, but that just wasn’t in the cards. If you’re a subscriber to this community, then you understand what I mean. In thinking about what to write next, I realized I didn’t just want to pull up from the Rolodex of well known kids authors and educational figures and slap together a series of snippets from a Wikipedia article. We all know who Levar Burton is, or Mr. Rodgers, and there is endless content about their work and its impact. I figured, when I came across something that really struck me, I’d know, and that’s what would drive me to write. Often times, authors get a lot of the praise when it comes to children’s books, and with good reason. A great children’s book expresses its themes and message through a deep collaboration between artist and author, that is, unless you’re B. J. Novak (this is a great book). Some authors are also great artists, able to fully realize their own vision both in words and visuals, as evidenced by the last Story Time post I wrote. Then there are the artists, who bring such a unique style to any story, that makes you want to read their books regardless of the attached authors.

David Roberts

David Roberts is a British illustrator most famously known for his work on the book series “The Questioneers” done in collaboration with author Andrea Beaty. I, however, was first introduced to David Roberts’ beautiful watercolor art in a book that I featured in the predecessor to our Story Time posts, inside a book called Someone Just Like You, written by Helen Docherty. Something about Roberts’ art really struck me. It was fun and silly, vibrant and detailed. Every character was unique in some way, they also seemed wildly authentic in their representation. In the foreword, Helen Docherty writes, “For every child who has ever had to leave their home behind. This story was inspired by the words of Jo Cox: ‘We have more in common than that which divides us’” It asks the reader, towards the middle of the book:

If this someone needed shelter,
or a place to sleep at night,

If they’d had to leave their home
because they didn’t want to fight,

If you saw them feeling sad,
because they’d left their friends behind,
would you be the one to hug them,
when they needed someone kind?

The subtext of the book will likely be lost on young readers, but the message is one of solidarity, something I think we can all get behind. I think much of what softens the subject of this book is the way in which Roberts’ depicts these children. Their various and diverse representations do not feel forced, they don’t feel like an afterthought, and in many ways, it feels like a great deal of care was invested in their presentation.

This will be a theme throughout David Roberts’ work. A prime example of this for me is the book Bathe The Cat, by Alice B. McGinty. This is a book that we all love in our house. It is a silly, goofy, wacky book, about a family trying to clean their house, and a cat who does not want to take a bath. It is, by all accounts, a story that could have been illustrated in any number of ways. This is how Roberts depicts the family in this story:

The story contained within these pages does not require the family to be depicted as they are, but they are anyway. They have a messy house, they struggle to get it clean before Grandma arrives, and they also wear their queerness out loud, as depicted by the various fridge magnets and children’s art within illustrations. This queer forward depiction of family is presented in a very natural way, in a way that normalizes their existence. This depiction, however, was apparently too much for some, landing the book on a banned book list in Saline County, Arkansas.

These themes and depictions can be found in many other works by Roberts. In Sofia Valdez, Future Prez for example, Sofia’s grandfather wears a bucket hat with a few buttons on it; a peace sign, a white button with a pink triangle in the center, and a button that reads “Sí, se puede” which you might recognize as the motto for the United Farm Workers of America labor union.

Sofia Valdez is an interesting book in its own right, it isn’t about a young girl dreaming about being President, it’s about a young girl who petitions her local government, after gathering community support, to build a park where there once was a landfill. It shows that, through community organizing and pressure, you too can make change in your local community. Liberals love to write books about voting, and I wasn’t sure the direction this book was going at first, but I was pleased to see the message of this story. Encouraging political action through engagement with the community.

Roberts is an author in his own right, and many of the themes he expresses through his depiction of people and children in his illustrations, are full front and center in his own books. He focuses on illustrated history, his first book being Suffragette: The Battle For Equality and his second being We Are Your Children: A History of LGBT+ Activism.

After discovering Roberts was both the illustrator of Bathe The Cat and Someone Just Like You, I went through our library and found as many books as I could that featured him as an artist. Obviously, Bathe The Cat and Someone Just Like You, I highly recommend. One of my other favorites is The Cook and the King by Julia Donaldson. Donaldson is a very popular author, and her story of a nervous chef and a lazy king is made all that much better through David Roberts’ artwork. The Questioneers Picture Books are all fantastic stories and I highly recommend you read them. One that touched me deeply (and I had to pause reading it because it made me emotional) was Aaron Slater, Illustrator. Here is the afterword of the book for you to read.

I saw much of my inner child inside Aaron Slater, Illustrator, as my kids and I read through it. By the end of the book, Aaron is given a space to be his true authentic self, something I rarely had growing up with ADHD. The representation of Aaron Slater’s struggle is so authentic, and so relatable, that even rereading it now it makes me cry. The sadness, and shame, expressed by young Aaron summons my own memories of grade school. However, unlike my own story, Aaron’s creativity is seen and honored by his teacher, instead of ignored or cast as a distraction from “the work”. Acceptance, and understanding, something the schools of my youth could not have provided me. This book makes me feel seen, in ways I rarely ever did.

Much like Arnold Lobel, Roberts showcases love across a spectrum, in a way that normalizes that love. Love of family, love of friends, and love of yourself.

If you want to contribute a Story Time post, highlighting a favorite Children’s or Young Adult series, author, or illustrator, feel free to DM me! Each story time thread will stay up for a month at a minimum.

Reminders:

Now, as is tradition in these threads, I ask: So what are you all reading with the family? Any good gets from the library recently? Have any of your kids been sucked into a good book series? Get in the comments!

HIYA!