CAMARILLO, Calif. - Two little boys who wear red coats in famous children’s books have very different experiences.
Peter’s cozy red snowsuit protects him from a snowy day.
Little Black Sambo’s red jacket is snatched by a tiger who threatens to eat him.
The boys share another color in common, a color that shouldn’t matter, but does — at least in literary history. Both boys are black.
Peter is the main character in Ezra Jack Keats’ 1962 illustrated story “A Snowy Day,” considered the first picture book to feature an African-American child as the hero.
Sambo is the protagonist of Helen Bannerman’s 1899 picture book “Little Black Sambo,” now considered a racist depiction of African-American people (Sambo actually was Indian).
Let’s focus on Keats.
The artist-author, who died in 1983, and his much-celebrated “A Snowy Day” — winner of the Caldecott Medal, the highest honor for children’s illustration — are the subject of a traveling exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
“The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats,” which opened at The Jewish Museum in New York in 2011 to coincide with the book’s 50th anniversary, will be on display through Sept. 7 at the Skirball.
The exhibition features more than 80 works of art by Keats, from his early paintings and sketches to the original collage art from his children’s books, plus letters, journals, photographs and other historical items. Sambo makes an appearance in a section that shows how black children were portrayed in 20th-century literature.
After “The Snowy Day” was published, people thought Keats was black. “As a matter of fact, many were disappointed that I wasn’t,” he said. The artist did, however, have deep compassion for all people, especially those who were marginalized.
The Skirball is a Jewish cultural center, and Keats, born Jacob Ezra Katz in Brooklyn in 1916, was Jewish. The child of poor Eastern European Jews, he changed his name after World War II in 1947 because he feared anti-Semitism.
Skirball curator Erin Clancey said Keats felt discriminated against as a Jew when he was an adult, but “I don’t think his ethnic background was really the issue for him growing up. He was a very lonely kid, poor, small, introverted, kind of different. He was picked on.”
The stories in the exhibit, Clancey said, “are used to illustrate his life, passion and commitment to social justice, which is one of the reasons the exhibit was a great fit for us.”
Keats, a gifted artist from a young age, was mostly self-taught, and a painter first. He didn’t use collage until he started illustrating children’s books — at first for other writers — then used the technique for the rest of his career.
To create his richly layered illustrations, Keats used found materials, newspapers, fabrics, marbled paper, watercolors, pen and ink, even photographs.
“These materials really capture how there are bits and pieces of things everywhere,” Clancey said. Keats paid attention to and appreciated things in urban landscapes that other people might dismiss or ignore, she said, such as graffiti or garbage.
If you’re not familiar with Keats’ children’s books other than “The Snowy Day,” the exhibit offers a wonderful introduction to all his children’s titles, most of which take place in the city and feature a multiracial cast of kids and adults, such as “Apt. 3,” “Goggles,” “Louie” (one of Keats’ few white characters) and “Regard to the Man in the Moon,” published two years before Keats’ death.
Six additional books feature Peter of “The Snowy Day” as he grows older, including “A Chair for Peter,” “Whistle for Willie” and “A Letter to Amy.”
The exhibit is geared toward kids, with the art hung low and interactive activities along the way, such as opportunities to “crunch” feet in (fake) snow like Peter, wear goggles, play with shadows, create collages and read Keats’ books.
Keats had a connection to children’s book illustrator Simms Taback of Ventura, who died in 2011. They became friends in the 1960s when both had studio space in the same New York building.
In the book “Keats’s Neighborhood: An Ezra Jack Keats Treasury,” contributing writer Taback said in an essay that he was inspired by Keats to include collage in his own artwork to make it “more playful.”
When Taback created his Caldecott Medal-winning book “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat,” he said, “I wasn’t thinking only of (Keats’) technique, which is instantly recognizable, but also of how straightforward, warm and child-friendly his pictures are.”
Although Keats is lauded for portraying minority children in his books, he didn’t have a political or social agenda, and just created characters who looked like the ones around him in New York.
Keats said of Peter, “I wanted him to be in the book on his own, not through the benevolence of white children or anyone else. My book would have him there simply because he should have been there all along.”
Native American author Sherman Alexie, in his acceptance speech for the National Book Award in 2007, said “The Snowy Day” was the first book he loved.
“I was most intrigued by that little boy, a black boy, a brown boy, a beige boy,” he said. It was the first time I had ever looked at a book where somebody resembled me. But more than that, he spiritually resembled me with that gorgeous loneliness and splendid isolation.”
Color matters, and it doesn’t.
David Rosenfelt: Author of the Andy Carpenter mystery series will sign “Hounded.” 7 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 5). Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks. 446-2820.
Margaret Brownley: Award-winning novelist will present “A Glimpse Into the Incredibly (un)Glamorous Life of a Writer.” 2 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 9). Simi Valley Library.
James Patterson Day: Celebrate the best-selling novelist all day with discussions and photos at a fan tribute station. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today (Aug. 3). Barnes & Noble, 4820 Telephone Road, Ventura. 339-0990.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Day: Barnes & Noble stores will offer TMNT stories, crafts and other activities. 6 p.m. Friday (Aug. 8). 4820 Telephone Road, Ventura, 339-0990; and 160 S. Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 446-2820.
MONDAY (Aug. 4)
Milk and Cookies Story Time: Hosted by Foster Library at 10 a.m. at Panera Bread, 4910 Telephone Road, Ventura, with milk and cookies provided by Panera.
Summer Reading Club Finale: Magic show at 3 p.m. at High Street Arts Center; cupcakes and prizes at 4 p.m. at Moorpark Library. Donations of canned dog or cat food requested for the Ventura County Animal Shelter.
Anime Film Club: For teens and adults. Will screen “Mobile Suit Gundam.” In Japanese with English subtitles. Parent or guardian must accompany children younger than 13. 6 p.m. Simi Valley Library.
Retirement Planning Workshop: 6 p.m. Camarillo Library.
TUESDAY (Aug. 5)
Dan Crow’s “Concoctions”: Award-winning children’s singer-songwriter Crow will perform. 6:30 p.m. Blanchard Community Library.
Teen Summer Reading Club Finale: Pizza party, raffle and book giveaway. 3 p.m. Moorpark Library.
Penny-Powered Lights: Teens will make portable lights from pennies and lemon juice. 3:30 p.m. South Oxnard Library.
After-Hours Movie Night: For teens. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (rated PG-13). Pizza and snacks provided. 7:30 p.m. Thousand Oaks Library.
WEDNESDAY (Aug. 6)
Juggler David Cousin: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Camarillo Library.
“Animal Adaptations” Program: Nature of Wildworks will show how animals survive in different environments. 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Thousand Oaks Library; 6:30 p.m. at Newbury Park Library.
Books, Games and Puzzles: 2 p.m. Piru Library.
Pet Parade and Party: Event will celebrate the end of the summer reading program. Bring a picture of yourself and your pet for the parade. 3 p.m. Avenue Library.
End-of-Summer Reading Party: Pizza party and activities will conclude the summer reading program. 3:30 p.m. Foster Library.
Balloon Storyteller Annie Banannie: Will present “How to Catch a Mouse.” 4 p.m. South Oxnard Library.
THURSDAY (Aug. 7)
Build Your Own Kaleidoscope: 3:30 p.m. Colonia Library.
Teen Movie Night: “Warm Bodies” (rated PG-13). 6:30 p.m. Camarillo Library.
Writer’s Workshop: 5:30 p.m. Ojai Library.
SATURDAY (Aug. 9)
Family Ukulele Class: 1 p.m. Prueter Library.
“The Banjo: America’s Instrument”: Presentation and performance by banjo player Chris Cairns. 3:30 p.m. Oxnard Library.
Albert H. Soliz: 2820 Jourdan St., Oxnard (El Rio). 485-4515.
Avenue: 606 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura. 643-6393.
Blanchard: 119 N. Eighth St., Santa Paula. 525-3615.
Camarillo: 4101 E. Las Posas Road. 388-5222.
Colonia: 1500 Camino del Sol, Oxnard. 385-8108.
E.P. Foster: 651 E. Main St., Ventura. 648-2715.
Fillmore: 502 Second St. 524-3355.
Meiners Oaks: 114 N. Padre Juan Ave. 646-4804.
Moorpark: 699 Moorpark Ave. 517-6370.
Newbury Park: 2331 Borchard Road. 498-2139.
Oak Park: 899 N. Kanan Road. 818-889-2239.
Oak View: 555 Mahoney Ave. 649-1523.
Ojai: 111 E. Ojai Ave. 646-1639.
Oxnard: 251 South A St. 385-7500.
Piru: 3811 Center St. 521-1753.
Prueter: 510 Park Ave., Port Hueneme. 486-5460.
Saticoy: 11426 Violeta St. 647-5736.
Simi Valley: 2969 Tapo Canyon Road. 526-1735.
South Oxnard: 4300 Saviers Road. 385-8129.
Thousand Oaks: 1401 E. Janss Road. 449-2660.
If you go
“The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats” exhibit will be open through Sept. 7 at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. Hours are noon- 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $10 general, $7 seniors and seniors, $5 children 2-12, free for kids younger than 2. For more information, call 310-440-4500 or visit http://www.skirball.org. (CQ)
If you have information about book news or events, please send it to Karen Lindell at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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