Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers

                                                    

 

2017

Oliver Jeffers’ Here We Are looks like and behaves like a standard picture book for pre-schoolers. 

It is a large, almost square book and though portrait in orientation it is big enough for adult and child to share. It has scant text which is formatted in an adult serif font with difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s. The pictures give more information than the text. Yet the information in it is probably for the older child.  Indeed, 

the information in it is so important that it is appropriate that the text is shared between child and adult.
It brings a totally positive message. Its subtitle is “Notes for Living on the Plant Earth”. It is the point of view of parent explaining to a child what the world is about. A message in the front papers says “The book was written in the first two months of your life as I tried to make sense of it all for you”. Or is it that the writer is trying to make sense of it all for himself and other adults? 

We start off with a description of our place in the universe and then we explore the planet Earth in more detail. We look at the land, the sea, and what we can see in the sky at night. Then we move on to the human body and its needs. There are double spreads showing all sorts of human beings and all sorts of animals. The writer recognises that the child will have all sorts of questions. He also tackles time and warns that it goes by quickly. 

There is enough for everyone - physically, intellectually and emotionally. There are a lot of people in the world to love and be loved by. 

The book rejoices in abundance and positivity. 

The only tiny shadow is the warning about time slipping by.  
                

I am Brown by Ashok Banker (writer) Sandhya Prabhat (illustrator)

2020

This is a picture book containing ten double spreads of full colour pictures. The pictures illustrate the text and add to the story. 

The protagonist is possibly every brown child. 

The first picture is of an upside down face on a single page. The next page asserts that the main character is beautiful and perfect. The reader – and this is probably an adult reading accompanied by a child looking at the pictures - is taken through a series of scenarios:

·         the child dresses up as many different professionals,

·         says what those workers actually do,

·         where people who are brown actually live

·         which languages they speak,

·         what they look like,

·         which sort of homes they live in – and here the diversity is complete- every reader will recognise her own home

·         what they like to do,

·         what they like to eat

·         what they like to wear  

·         which relationships they may have to the reader

·         where they might worship _ which includes nowhere

·         what they may have achieved in life  

The text is not dense but is rich in vocabulary. The pictures are rich in detail and in very vibrant colours. 

Who should read the book? No doubt is would appeal to black readers – and interesting perhaps that the text asserts that the protagonist is brown. Yet it also a text that white readers should enjoy. It helps us all to understand that there are more similarities amongst us than differences between us.