4 Tips for Incorporating History Into Picture Books
When Fawzia Gilani Williams and I wrote our new picture book, The Promise, we were inspired by actual historical events that took place around World War II in a small Moroccan village. The historical setting was central to this quiet, powerful tale of two boys—one Jewish, one Muslim—whose friendship transcends the aftermath of war, separation, and the passage of time.
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Though Fawzia and I had already co-authored The Button Box, a middle-grade time travel which was well-received by the historical community, we found that writing a picture book set in the past carries its own unique set of challenges. We put a great deal of time and effort into doing it right for The Promise. So I hope to make your writing life easier by sharing some of what we learned about incorporating history into picture books!
Know what “research” really means. Then do it.
We live in times when folks honestly think Googling a keyword or two constitutes research. If that’s the level of time investment you were hoping to put into the historical setting of your story, this article may help change your mind. Since we write for children, it’s particularly important to hold ourselves to higher standards. And while there are often competing ways of interpreting the past, it’s our responsibility to get as close to the truth as possible.
I’m not suggesting you can’t begin with a Google search! Why wouldn’t you? It’s a great way to skim the surface of what’s out there. But when you’re ready to go deeper, try searching also within Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/), which will yield an entirely different set of search results. It offers an array of trustworthy academic articles on many subjects.
After getting a good overview of what you want to cover, your next step is finding excellent secondary sources. The best bets are usually books issued by university presses which focus solely on the era and culture you’re looking at, rather than more general textbook-type overviews.
For example, the events described in our book The Promise took place when Morocco was under French rule. So when the Nazis took over France, anti-Semitic rules were then imposed in French territories like Morocco. I had to read about this in order to understand the motivations behind the Jewish family’s decision to leave their little village and go to Israel. I found Boum & Stein’s The Holocaust and North Africa, published by Stanford University Press, to be very helpful in answering my questions.
Another primary source used in writing The Promise was a historical map of the area where our protagonists lived. My co-author also consulted with a Moroccan scholar, in order to verify points of fact as we went through the creation process.
Don’t co-opt stories that would be better told by someone else.
Each situation has its own unique writer fit.
If you are not a historian, a participant in, or descendant of the culture you want to write about, consider carefully before proceeding. What is drawing you to tell this particular tale? Will your inexperience with the culture rob your story of authenticity or power? Please don’t misrepresent historical voices, either deliberately or through a lack of care. Just because a book is historical doesn’t mean that #OwnVoices considerations don’t apply in diverse story settings, under certain conditions.
One of the reasons that Fawzia Gilani Williams and I wrote The Promise and The Button Box as a team, is that each of us wants to be sure that the other’s historical culture is represented sensitively and correctly. Writing with at least some level of firsthand understanding will elevate your work in a way that can’t be reproduced by any other means.
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Work closely and respectfully with illustrators.
Help your illustrator by going over any important groundwork up front. For example, if there is an important historical object or location in your book, give your editor a visual of what you looked at while shaping your story. The same goes for portraits or statues that inspired you while writing about historical figures—share them with your illustrator via your editor! The illustrator makes their own decisions about what their artistic vision is for the book, but knowing what’s in an author’s mind can be a helpful starting point for their creative process.
Then don’t be shy about correcting historical and cultural errors as necessary when you receive the sketches. This does not mean attempting to micro-manage the pictures or the art style. But, for example, if a character shows up in an illustration wearing something he would never have worn, a simple and professional “He would not be wearing a prayer shawl in this context” will set it right.
Illustrators, don’t hesitate to do your own research to check whether visual historical referents are correct or not. This system of checks and balances—author, illustrator, editor, and art department—will deliver the accuracy so crucial to our purpose of enlightening as well as entertaining young readers.
Don’t let history drive the narrative.
After you’ve done all that gorgeous, intensive historical research, you may find yourself trying to stuff way more of it than will fit into the minimalist format of a picture book. I feel your pain! But back away slowly from all those tempting details and remember that your illustrator will fill in a lot of what can’t be included in your written words.
It’s the story that matters to the young reader, not the history. In picture books in particular, readers will learn incidentally, rather than directly. If you’ve done your work right, then your book will inspire young readers to seek more stories in that space as they grow. Their understanding of the world will grow along with them.
Your work will make a difference.
That’s a promise.