Book or Music Video?

Abstract

This paper examines the staggering rejuvenation of children’s picture books in the last decade, as a direct result of emerging narratives that celebrate racial identity, underrepresented culture, and heritage at the point of extinction. Awarded works such as The Undefeated, We are Water Protectors, and All Because You Matter, redefine the boundaries of children’s literature by challenging concepts related to appropriacy, narrative structure, subject matter, iconicity, and reception. Simultaneously, this paper examines the influence the pandemic exerted on children’s publishing houses, which dared to explore uncharted copyright territory, and grant permissions to writers, teachers, and librarians to share picture book content through various media platforms. The combination of the momentum of the Own Voices picture book and the newly emerging licensing landscape had amazing repercussions in both storytime reception and children’s publishing dynamics. Apart from an unprecedented boost of sales, rise in readership, and the founding of new imprints, the very fact that in digital read-aloud storytime a staggering amount of artistic media intersect, leads to the birth of a hybrid new genre--that of the picture book video. However, although this uncharted intermedial territory of Own Voices picture book video is one to follow, there are increasing BIPOC voices that speak of publishing cacophony. Has the Own Voices literary edifice painstakingly erected itself into a prison cell with bars of freedom?