Running to freedom

Front cover

Underground by Shane W. Evans recently won The Coretta Scott King Book Award, which is given to African American authors and illustrators for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions. I'm writing about it in my blog for I find it visually fascinating, and it awoke a curiosity I could not shake.  I've already  written about a picturebook which could be read and shared with a view to talking about historical events, The Rabbits, and Underground is another  such title.  Based on the Underground Railroad,  a complex network of people, who helped slaves escape to freedom during the 1800's, it tells the story of how people got to freedom. A minimal verbal texts is accompanied by fabulous  illustrations, achieved with a mixture of collage and paintwork. Evans uses a very blue pallet, a night blue, dusky and dark yet everything is clearly visible in its blueness. This blue is  partnered with subtle uses of white, sharply cut bits of white.  Yellow appears too, moving from representing captors' windows and flaming torches to highlighting and shining upon conductors (those who helped the slaves) and the colour of day and freedom all in one.

Back cover

The picturebook: The front cover portrays fleeing slaves, dark and sinister, the whites of their eyes accentuating their look of fear.  Rays of light emanate from behind them, rays of hope possibly. The back cover is not part of a continuous picture, but instead the ending. The endpapers are plain dark blue, the colour of night and as we turn the pages we pass the title page, different only in that it is painted blue and there are a number of stars scattered across it.
The first opening also contains the copyright information and a dedication, those dark skinned faces from the front cover appear again, only just visible. We might not know what this story is about, but already we are apprehensive. 

Opening 2

Whisper this spread, "The escape.": the leading figure has his finger on his lips as the three creep away.  The whites of their eyes shining out at us, looking left, looking right, looking left.  In the background you can see the light shining from a curtainless window of the owners' house, that together with the light of the thin crescent moon casts a thin shadow across their bodies. 
And so each spread opens onto more dark, dusky blue. Shadowy figures hunched across the pages, "We are quiet."...

Opening 4

The yellow in this spread accentuates "The fear." It touches each runaway face like orange tinged caresses, but they remain hidden. Is the torch bearer friend or foe? The sheriff in the background is sending his men elsewhere.  And so, "We run. We crawl."  ...  

Opening 7

"We rest." All but daddy who keeps his eyes open, watching. 
It seems like an endless night, but it must represent many nights. The next page turn shows us one of the conductors, those in safe houses who helped the fleeing slaves. 

Opening 8

"We make new friends:" The yellow light is welcoming, the runaways are inside safe.  But their journey continues. "Others help." "Some don't make it." "We are tired." and suddenly we turn the page ...

Opening 11

The yellow light shines as the day begins, lighting a huddle of people. It took me several views to realise that it is a woman and a makeshift mid-wife, for the woman is having a baby, her belly bulging, her bent knees highlighted by the sun. Man and children look on as the wife moans. 

Opening 12

"The light." The woman blinks as the light shines upon her face.  Is it the woman or the man who declare what's immanent?  Or is it the event of birth they are referring to? In Portuguese and Spanish when a woman gives birth they refer to the giving of the light (dar a luz). It's the beginning whatever it is, the light over a new horizon. As we turn the page, the triumphant father holds his child high up and the words tell us, "The sun."
The final opening is jubilant :..

Opening 14

"Freedom. I am free. he is free: She is free. We are free."

If we close the book and linger on the back cover, we realise now who the happy family depicted there is.  The newly born baby is the center of attention, a child born in freedom. 


Evans himself admits that for most of us it is difficult to imagine what being a slave was like, being owned by someone else, someone who dictated what you did, how you did it and when you did it.  It is possibly easier to 'relate to opening the door to assist someone.'  Many risked their own lives by aiding and abetting runaway slaves. This picturebook cleverly mixes the flight of the slaves with the assistance they were given.  Its shapes and colours share an emotion that touches all of us.  Could we use this picturebook with students learning history through English?  I'd like to think so.  


On a website about to this picturebook, Shane  W. Evans writes:

In so many ways the simplicity of this book says it all. This experience for me as an author and illustrator was one of the more dynamic experiences in my career. This journey for me was truly one through the lives of a people searching for freedom in their hearts and souls. These journeys lead me "home" in so many ways back to my own community today. If we look around us we can see the spirit of what this movement represented. The idea of freedom is a powerful one that in this world has a duality; this quiet journey of "underground" reflects that in a powerful way. This book not only pays homage to the many that decided to "steal away to freedom" in the 1800's, it pays homage to those that continue the fight for freedom today.

Blanket bugs come in all shapes and sizes

Front cover

Bugs in a blanket is one of the many quality, Phaidon picturebooks available. Well-known for its art books, Phaidon has been working with slightly different illustrators from European markets,  Beatrice Alemagna is Italian and based in France. Bugs in a blanket is the first of several Bugs books, all illustrated using real embroidery and patchwork.  Quite something.  You can see the stitches, make out the buttons and sequins, and you'll really get the urge to touch the pages, everything is so life-likely soft and wooly. This is one of the reasons I have chosen this picturebook, to share some very unique illustrations. 

The format is landscape, with a solid hardback cover and thick pages. There are lots of pages, much more than the normal 32. I've counted 42 which is very odd, as it's not divisible by sixteen.  But not to worry! 

The front cover shows us a row of jolly bugs,  they are standing against a background of rough linen.  The back cover (which I don't have as a photo) shows us the bugs from behind.  I like it when illustrators do that, front and back, it's a great visual joke.  The blurb on the back reads: "It is Fat Bug's birthday, and he has invited all the bugs that live in the blanket to his party.  They have never met each other before and are in for a big surprise." 

Title page

The endpapers double up as the copyright and title pages.  Lots of nice wooly blobs and a bug like shape for the copyright info.  The title font, as on the front cover, is cut felt.  As you open the picturebook, you'll discover the illustration is always on the recto, and the text is always on verso.  We start with the bed, at the bottom of the garden, that's where the blanket is!

Opening 1

And that's where the bugs live! "The bugs have lived there for years and years. Each little bug, snug in his hole in the rug."  But today is one little bug's birthday ...

Opening 4

He's baked a cake (blanket dust cakes!), he's decorated his hole and he's even playing music: "Everyone knows that little bugs love to dance and hop about."  He hears the doorbell and runs to open the door, but what a  surprise ...

Opening 6

He doesn't look happy, look at that down-turned mouth! "He thought the other little bugs would all be fat and white, just like him. What a disappointment." 

Opening 7

'He looks at the little bug standing right in front of him and asks, "Why are you as skinny as a string bean?" He sounds quite cross.' Here begins an interesting visual verbal feature, where children are told what they will be seeing on the next page.  Here is our skinny (well skinnier than the fat bug) bug!  

Opening 8

'Little thin bug doesn't know what to say. So he looks at the bug next to him and asks, "Well,  how about you? Why are you as yellow as a banana?"' And so it goes, banana Yellow Bug is offended too, and compares the next bug's eyes to an owl's eyes.  He in turn is offended and asks why the Long-Legged Bug has such long legs.   Long-legged bug accuses a brightly coloured bug of looking like a parrot. 

Opening 11

'Little Speckled Bug is upset. He looks back at Little Fat bug and asks him,  "Why are you as fat as a hippopotamus?"' We have gone full circle. '"What a silly thing to ask!" says Little Fat Bug. "I was just born like this, a little bit fat."'  Well that's a sensible answer!
Each Bug then justifies their strange looks.  '"I was just born a little bit skinny." says Little Thin Bug.'

Opening 14

'"I've always been yellow all over," says Little Yellow Bug.'  '"I've got my Mama's eyes," says little Big-Eyed Bug'  ...  '"I was born brightly speckled," said Little Speckled Bug' ... Little Fat Bug realizes that no-one can help being the way they are and invites everyone in to dance and party!  Clever Bug!

Opening 20

But it's the next lot of text which brings it all home ... "Because you see, in the blanket, just as in the rest of the world, we can't chose what we look like - we are all born the way we are, and we are all different."  Deep and wise, especially for a Bug!

There's quite a lot of dense text on some spreads, and it's not too repetitive, so the book is not suitable for very small children in an ELT context.  I'd use it in a primary classroom, no problem.  There's the message that comes through fine and loud; I especially like the way the Bugs react to the insults,  and the illustrations are very expressive. They will help children see how comments can hurt and offend and hopefully help them become a little more empathetic.  You can support these pro-active thoughts by asking them what they think the Bugs are feeling. 


There's lots there to run with if you want to:

• Get children talking about the personal features they've inherited from different family members; 
• Match the hurtful comments with the justifications and then get children to make nice comments about each other, like:

Child 1 - "Your eyes are big and brown, they are very beautiful" "
Child 2 - "Thank you!  I've got my Dad's eyes."

• If you sew or knit, take some material or wool into class and make some fun Bug pictures using these different materials. Use the art work to create a host of Bugs with names and descriptions.  Play match the description to the Bug. 

I really like the idea of this wooly Bug world entering my classroom and helping us to think about diversity and taking care not to say hurtful things to classmates.   Thanks Phaidon!