Researching, Writing, and Illustrating a Children's Book
Author
Price , Lauren Anastasia
Abstract
In the world of education and children’s literature, there are many different types of books. Having diverse literature available for students in one’s classroom is arguably one of the most impactful things an educator can do for their students. When children are young it is important for them to be able to see themselves in the materials they are reading in school. There has been an increasingly diverse collection of children's books published each year, and educators have more options than ever to diversify their classroom libraries. For my Senior Honors Project, my goal was to add to this diverse body of literature. Through extensive research I was able to learn about what it means to be colorblind and the experiences and struggles that go along with this disability. Colorblindness is quite common, yet it is rarely written about or talked about in the classroom. I wrote and illustrated a fictional story about a child, Johnny Drew, who is colorblind. Johnny is new in school and the other children don’t know what to think about him. When the class is tasked with creating a mural for the school, Johnny is bullied by some of his peers, but through perseverance and encouragement from his teacher and a friend, Johnny shows everyone just how special he really is. My 30-page book also includes “lightbulb” facts throughout to provide more information to readers about what it means to be colorblind. Bringing light to a group of underrepresented people allows more students to be able to see themselves in a book as well as learn about others.
Subject
Date
2023-04-26
Collections
Publisher
East Carolina University