Roots and Culture: How Children's Literature Can Keep Us Connected to Our Past

When my family emigrated from Trinidad & Tobago to the United States, I still remember how difficult it was in those first years to adapt and assimilate. Without a doubt, I missed my family—including the many cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents that remained. 

At first, I thought this was sole root of my heartache. But I soon realized there was something deeper behind the nostalgia I felt whenever I heard soca or reggae music; or the excitement it stirred each time I heard a Trini accent. 

It wasn’t just the people I missed. I missed my culture. 

Fast forward to today, as I prepare to release my first children’s book, culture is still very much on my mind. Throughout the process of writing and taking the steps to self-publish, there were many points along the journey that brought me back to that period of my life where I began to form my own definition of culture. The process also renewed my appreciation for Caribbean culture as a whole.  

When I first set out to create this work, my thinking was, ‘If I’m going to invest the time and effort into doing this, let me get in as much as I can.’ 

 Therefore, I chose to highlight four key aspects of Caribbean culture, including: 

• ·      Language
• ·      Art
• ·      Folklore and
• ·      Values

While each of these items are unique, I believe they are equally important when it comes to a person’s cultural identity. 

Language 

Language is perhaps the most easily identifiable and crucial characteristic of any culture. If people experience a connection of any sort, language is invariably the glue that holds them together. Although I wrote my book in the hopes that it would be read by children from all walks of life, it was important to me that the characters spoke the dialect of a native Trinidadian. 

Art

The above image is one of a series of vintage Caribbean paintings by Trinidadian artist, David Moore. His artwork rose to popularity in the nineties and early 2000s. If you visited any Caribbean home during that time, rest assured you would have found one of these paintings proudly perched on a wall in the living room or kitchen. I became a fan of his work namely because in almost every painting there was an air of familiarity. In fact, one of his paintings looked like a scene right out of my grandparents’ backyard.

As a result, I was adamant about finding an illustrator whose work could inspire that same familiarity and connection to life in the Caribbean. 

Folklore

Everyone knows about Cinderella, Pandora, Aladdin and Goldilocks. On the contrary, names such as La Diablesse, La Ciguapa, Papa Bois, douen and soucouyant are foreign outside of the Caribbean.

Although widely known throughout the Caribbean as part of traditional folktales, these characters have only recently made onto the pages of books.

As grandparents, aunts, uncles and other elders pass on, so do their stories. I wanted to do my part in keeping these tales alive. And so it was, that my little idea for a story about a boy who loved soccer, blossomed into a modern-day Caribbean folktale.

Values

Faith. Family. Education. Community. 

I can almost guarantee that if I were to name a country, one of these values would pop up front and center. What we believe, what we aspire to achieve, how we live our lives each day are all determined by our values. Invariably, our values are tied to our culture. My hope is that anyone who reads “Charlie and the Soucouyant” can readily identify the values I hold near and dear. More importantly, I hope it sparks conversations between parents and their children about what they value in their household.    

Staying rooted in our culture gives us a connection to the past, keeps us grounded in the present and inspires a vision for the future. As I see it, literature has always been, and continues to be an effective way to keep the culture relevant for our people—young and old.

If you’re interested In pre-ordering a copy of, “Charlie and the Soucouyant”, visit www.dreynidpublishing.com.

For a brief bio on David Moore visit https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php/?story_fbid=529818893268156&id=100087201492955