Years ago my daughter asked me why the characters in most of the fairytales we loved to read were white. It was a pivotal moment in her childhood understanding of the world. She wasn't reflected in those stories, which lead her to see other places in the world her narrative wasn't celebrated. Popular media rarely reflects children -- or a childhood experience -- that mirrors her own, and she was becoming aware of it. I believe that Fairytales have longevity because they are replete with themes of strength, character, beauty and force. I wanted to show her that she could harness those qualities and to demonstrate that resistance to stereotype can be creative and beautiful. We made our own versions of several stories. I chose to keep the props very simple so that she could really place herself into the different characters. Then I had them printed in a simple book that we kept on her bookshelf.

This work was created for her, and was not intended for an outside audience. However, it accompanied a piece I wrote for The Horn Book on Race and Fairytales. That article is linked on my website for anyone interested.

Kristen Joy Emack2022 Guggenheim Fellow

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Kristen Joy Emack
2022 Guggenheim Fellow