21 July 2018 by Roy Preece
A study by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (funded by the Arts Council) highlights the very low proportion of children’s books published with black, Asian or ethnic minority (BAME) characters.
Snowflake Books titles such as Chinese Farmers’ Calendar and Pingxi Sky Lantern have 100 per cent Chinese children, zodiac animals and fairy tale figures as the main characters. But it’s not enough just to produce the books. As Malorie Blackman, the new
Children’s Laureate, has said, parents may be put off buying a book with ethnic characters, feeling it’s not for them. That’s why Snowflake Books mount successful and enjoyable events in schools, libraries and museums to interpret Chinese culture to everyone.
But the Arts Council turned down our own modest application for funds to help with our expenses on a technicality that we couldn't understand. Carefully preparing our case was an exhausting process but we are determined to find the funding that we need to continue this amazing journey. Some people even argue that the Arts Council itself is not much interested in Chinese Culture but we hope that this is not the case.
