The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats

Peter in The Snowy Day

Written and Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

1962

The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats is the first major exhibition in this country to pay homage to Award Winning Author and Illustrator, Ezra Jack Keats. Coincidentally, The Snowy Day featured the first modern African-American protagonist to be illustrated in a full-color picture book. At the date of it's publication, in 1962, America was experiencing the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the book was a catalyst for change in the Children's Picture Book Industry. Needless to say, Peter has become an inspiration for generations of readers, The Boog being one of them.

The inspiration for Peter goes much deeper than the writer/illustrator is credited for. The Ethnicity of Peter takes a back seat as Keats literally paints a modern community right before your eyes. Growing up in the inner city myself, I have always related to the work of Keats in a very visceral way. His books touch upon life through the eyes of a child; a child that lives in uncertainty, but views their surroundings with conviction. His use of urban settings is not surprising, as he himself grew up in Brooklyn.

Being one of our favorites, I have written about Peter before (here). Gladly, he remains a constant bedtime staple in our story book circulation.

The Exhibit, curated by The Jewish Museum, is currently at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. and runs June 26 - October 14th 2012.

The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats Preview here.

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The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day

Ezra Jack Keats1962

I picked this up originally because its Keats (all Keats illustrations deserve a good peek) but also because it’s a very large format board book version of The Snowy Day. Actually it’s the most vibrant version of the book that I have ever come across. Much like the Good Night Moon copy we have, it makes the illustrations larger than life. After the third or fourth read I found that it wasn’t just the illustrations that made this book so appealing. It’s about a child going through his daily routine with a newfound sense of wonderment.

Keats took an ordinarily snowy, blah-day and made it extraordinarily amusing. Here we meet Peter, a little boy just waking up on a very, very, very, snowy day.

After his breakfast, which I’m sure was his mom’s idea, (way to go MOM) Peter goes out to explore this new winter wonderland, and towards the end of the book, makes a surprising discovery. . . . Not so surprising for you and I but none the less SUPER surprising for The Boog!

"He picked up a handful of snow --- and another, and still another. He packed it round and firm and put the snowball in his pocket for tomorrow. Then he went into his warm house."

-Im sure we can guess how that turned out!

On a side note, the influence for the characters in Keats’ books came from his community, while growing up in New York. Keats was able to create multi cultural characters that surpassed the traditional social boundries of his time. The character Peter (The Snowy Day) was the first African American child to have a central place in Children’s Literature. It won the prestigious Caldecott Award for the most distinguished picture book in 1963.

Peter appears in six more books growing from a small boy in The Snowy Day to adolescence in Pet Show. Young Peter paved the way for multi cultural characters in Children's Literature for future generations to come ;)