Interactive children’s book gives spin on Caribbean Christmas
Published:Friday | December 24, 2021 | 12:13 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Deviating from the traditional expressions of Christmas stories, author Valrie Kemp-Davis has collaborated with illustrator Richard Natto to birth an interactive and culturally inspired children’s book to not only bring holiday cheer but to entertain and inspire kids.
The book, titled Carradice Christ mas Chronicles, interweaves the teachings of critical life lessons, highlighting issues such as love and care, race and discrimination, self-importance and self-value, as well as other themes.
Revamping the typical image of a ‘white Christmas’ into one that connects with the Caribbean diaspora, Kemp-Davis has ensured that the black community is represented.
That’s especially so through the depiction of a dark-skinned Santa Claus whose beard is braided and whose hair is tightly coiled, resembling a dreadlocked Rastafarian.
This illustration is particularly important, said Kemp-Davis, as it reassures children in vulnerable situations and inspires hope in a caring and relatable society.
“A lot of times our history has been washed down, rewritten, and skewed, so I knew when I was really looking at the Santa story we were not really put into [it],” she said, noting that movies do not depict Santa Claus coming down the chimney of a black person’s home or visiting parts of the world close to the equator.
Her aim, she explained, was to ensure that readers would be able to see themselves in the book and think that their community was replicated in the story.
Kemp-Davis has also intentionally included culturally relevant names such as ‘Laquan’ and ‘Trayvon’ – who are actual kids in America who fell victim to racial injustice and gun violence – versus the typical ‘Preston’ or ‘Becky’.
“I wanted to honour these children who have been considered naughty, the misjudged pickney dem, who really weren’t naughty but were nice. [So] I have taken them off of society’s naughty list and put them on the permanently nice list,” she said.
Although Kemp-Davis is an American with Jamaican heritage, she aspires, through her book, to eliminate the notion that holiday cheer is geographically limited.
Thus she highlighted many minority ethnic groups, including a few prominent mentions of Christmas time in Jamaica’s poorest neighbourhoods and figures such as the social-media sensation ‘Aunty Donna’ (real name Donna Gowe), who is recognised for spreading cheer all year through her humanitarian zeal.
Nattoo, a recipient of the 2020 Prime Minister Youth Award in the category of Arts and Culture, has aided Kemp-Davis in using augmented reality for both kids and their parents to enjoy the book.
By scanning the QR code reader on the back of the novel, users will be prompted to download the free mobile application. The book then comes to life as kids can scan each page, with characters becoming animated during narration.
Kemp-Davis has recognised that there is a growing love for audio books and has created this interactive book to feed that interest.
Nattoo said that he decided to take on the project because the manuscript was an exciting read when he first got his hands on it.
“I just really enjoyed how relatable everything was. It felt like a Christmas book for me, for us, for Caribbean people!” the illustrator exclaimed.
“It felt like a book that reinterpreted Christmas from our perspective, and I really enjoyed that,” he added.
Having illustrated and authored his own children’s book, Ian Takes Flight, back in 2020, Nattoo said the latest project gave him a greater appreciation of the entire production process.
For this Yuletide season, Kemp-Davis wants to make a long-lasting contribution to children.
“I know that I am called to be the eyes and voice of the people of colour to lift the voice of the children of the diaspora,” she said.