In the picture

An exciting books initiative is putting disabled children centre stage, says picture book writer Katharine Quarmby

Michael Rosen, the Children’s Laureate, describes picture book creation as a “complex art form, that passes on its meanings, makes its suggestions in ways that call on readers to make many, many creative leaps, many, many investigations, many, many connections between parts of pages, different pages, forwards and backwards through the book”.

Children use picture books as a way of understanding their place in the world. But disabled children have been hampered by their near invisibility in the genre.

Hence the In the Picture campaign, run by the charity Scope and funded by the Big Lottery. Susan Clow, the project manager, came up with the idea after working for many years with families with disabled children. They told her that they couldn’t find books that featured disabled children.

Clow tracked down Two Left Feet, a cheery book that puts a child with a walking frame centre stage, and gave it to a disabled child called Celine Matthews. “Celine took this book with her everywhere she went, it gave her a story about why she was walking with a frame,” she says.

From this modest beginning sprang the campaign which has involved the Disabled Parent’s Network, disabled writers such as Joyce Dunbar, Kathy Saunders,
a disabled children’s book consultant, disabled children and many other committed writers, illustrators and publishers.

Quentin Blake, the well loved writer and illustrator, supports the scheme because he says that illustrators need to draw images that represent modern day experience, rather than archaic ones. “If you are an illustrator, you operate, in a sense, with signals. You know, in the old days, long after schoolmasters had stopped wearing gowns, they always wore gowns in pictures because that’s how you knew they were schoolmasters, so you have a set of almost clichés, or signals anyway, and of course, they get out of date.”

Now his fluid style of drawing graces the campaign and publicity materials, with disabled children portrayed in the same joyous style as their non-disabled peers.

And Joyce Dunbar, a celebrated, deaf writer of children’s books, is also an enthusiastic supporter. Her book, Moonbird, illustrated by Jane Ray, is a loving story that puts a deaf prince centre stage – and has a happy ending. She says that the campaign is important.

“Presence is what we are asking for, not exclusive, but inclusive.” It has already made great strides in increasing awareness. But, she says, because “disability is neither cute nor glamorous”, many publishers are “treading very warily” although some are forcing the pace of change.

The campaign has several arms. Its website has an extensive list of books with disabled characters, an “image bank” and an online gallery where disabled children can post pictures. In the Picture also works with publishers, illustrators and writers.

Susan Clow says that the campaign is not only about more visibility, but also about countering current representations of disability – usually a poorly-drawn
wheelchair. As a result, Child’s Play (International), now shows disabled children wearing splints or hearing aids (The Ding Dong Bag, pictured), for example.

Publishers Franklin Watts and Kidpremiership have also adapted their illustrations. Many publishers stress that they want to promote inclusion, rather than a niche market.

Janetta Otter-Barry, editorial director at Frances Lincoln, (and the publisher of my first picture book), has published three books with disabled main characters which she says appeal to all readers. Looking after Louis about a boy with autism at school, written by Lesley Ely and drawn with panache by Polly Dunbar, is, she says, “a lovely school story for any child”.

The campaign to celebrate and picture disabled children for who they are has less than a year to go.
• www.childreninthepicture.org.uk
• Fussy Freya, by Katharine Quarmby, illustrated by Piet Grobler, is published by Frances Lincoln this month

Five great books
Moonbird– by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Jane Ray, Doubleday Press

Seal Surfer– written and illustrated by Michael Foreman, Andersen Press

Dan and Diesel– by Charlotte Hudson, illustrated by Lindsey Gardiner, Red Fox Picture Books

The Ding Dong Bag– by Polly Peters, illustrated by Jess Stockham, Child’s Play (International) Ltd

Looking after Louis– by Lesley Ely, illustrated by Polly Dunbar, Frances Lincoln