Tasha’s Voice is a new Picture Book releasing on 04/09/2024 from the Yosemite Conservancy This new titles is authored by Carmen Bogan and jointly illustrated by the late Floyd Cooper and his mentee Daria Peoples. Keep reading below for a wonderful joint interview with Carmen & Daria about their new title which celebrates the great outdoors while also celebrating the joy of finding one’s voice.
About the Creators:
Carmen Bogan is an author, publisher, and consultant to nonprofit organizations. Her picture book Where’s Rodney?, illustrated by the award-winning Floyd Cooper, was a Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year. She is also the author of Willis Watson Is a Wannabe, illustrated by Cheryl “Ras” Thuesday. Carmen is a member of the Oakland Literacy Coalition and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and she is a board member of Arts for Oakland Kids. An alumna of Stanford University and the University of California, Los Angeles, she and her husband, Willie, live in Oakland, California.
Floyd Cooper began drawing at three years old and illustrated more than one hundred books for children. His work often honors Black history and celebrates Black joy. Floyd collaborated with many best-selling authors, and he authored his own books as well. Awarded many honors during his lifetime, in 2022 he posthumously received a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, and a Sibert Honor for Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, written by Carole Boston Weatherford. Floyd is survived by his wife, Velma; their sons, Dayton and Kai; and his grandchildren.
Daria Peoples’s first job was shelving and reading picture books in her hometown library. Today, she writes and illustrates stories for children, and visits schools and communities throughout the country to teach art. As a Diversity Fellow for the Highlights Foundation, she was mentored by Floyd Cooper. Daria has illustrated the works of others and is the author-illustrator of five picture books, including Hello, Mister Blue and America, My Love, America, My Heart, both of which received many starred reviews. She lives in Las Vegas.
An Interview with Carmen Bogan & Daria Peoples
At Diverse BookFinder, we’re all about the importance of diverse, representative literature for children. What does representation mean for you? How has that changed over time, if at all?
Carmen Bogan:
“Diversity in children’s literature in particular is often misunderstood. The idea of diversity and its value to children has changed many times over the years. For some, diversity is a concept to be celebrated and for others, it is a fact of life to be tolerated. Over the years diversity in children’s literature has been considered simply stories with illustrations reflecting a broad, colorful representation of children, thus giving all a chance to be seen and included.
Years ago, with the dearth of books about Black children, so many Black parents and educators were thrilled just to see Black children protagonists represented in children’s books. But for me now, it’s much more than that. Racial representation allows all children to develop a clear perspective of the world and life. When all children are trusted to see others who not only look different but also have different life experiences and further process those experiences differently, they are given the gift of growth and an open mind that enlarges them and promotes genuine interactions with other human beings throughout their lifetimes.”
Daria Peoples:
“Well, I think there is a direct correlation between diverse, representative literature and our ability to imagine freedom for ourselves and for others. Underrepresented stories help expand our imaginations, and in extension our ability to envision more freedoms as to who we are and who we can become, individually and collectively as a society. As writers and artists, we build an imaginative database in a reader’s mind for what can be possible, but I also think this work has been happening for a very long time. Me and my contemporaries are adding to the cannon of diverse, representative work, but our stories are only occupying new spaces because of the foundation past authors and illustrators of color established. The longer I am in the publishing industry, it becomes increasingly important for me to consider ways we can reimagine publishing to be sustainable and impactful for underrepresented groups. I also think children in the US would benefit from more global representation of under-represented groups throughout the world.”
What do you find to be the most challenging part of creating books for children today? What is the most rewarding?
Carmen Bogan:
“The most challenging part of writing books for children is writing about complex themes without losing the playfulness and childlike joy of the text. The most rewarding part for me is when children get the message, enjoy the story, and want to hear it again. And again.”
Daria Peoples:
“I think I can only answer this question from the perspective of a creator, and as a creative who has solely published picture books. I like to push the boundaries of the picture book form and structure, which don’t always fit very neatly into the static boxes of children’s publishing, from genre to age ranges. When I have to maintain the status quo of those perimeters, it seems to conflict with what I sometimes feel best serves the story, the child reading the story, and my ideas! I think children are more than capable of understanding abstract and layered concepts at a very young age, but publishing has the tendency to limit a child’s access to these types of stories if they don’t fit into the framework of the established system. However, the most rewarding aspect of creating children’s books is when I successfully execute a vision that challenges the depth and capacity of those limitations and children connect with the story I’ve created. I’ve been very fortunate to work with an editor who encourages me to challenge the boundaries.”
Carmen, you’ve mentioned how “Where’s Rodney” affirmed the need to represent how all Black children, regardless of their personality, can enjoy and find themselves in natural spaces. Even so, it was a pleasant surprise to return to Miss Garcia’s classroom specifically. What inspired you to place Tasha’s story in the same continuity?
“Tasha is a different child. She almost has the opposite personality from Rodney. Juxtaposing the stories of Rodney’s transformation and Tasha’s with the same classroom, same teacher, same classmates and same trip to the same park on the same day made a point. That point is that nature is healing. And somehow being in nature touches children (and adults for that matter) and delivers a remedy they need to transform. Scientists have studied it extensively but I believe that there’s something inexplicable about the transformative power of nature. The continuity of the stories of Rodney and Tasha submits that we could tell other stories of children in that classroom and their exposure to the great park would touch them in a way that leaves them changed.”
Carmen, you previously compared Tasha’s dream of speaking up and speaking out to your daughter. How has your daughter inspired this character and/or your writing in general?
“My younger daughter was always a very quiet soul. She, her sister and I spent many joyful hours hiking breathtaking parks in California. She is now enjoying a career now as a champion, a voice for protecting those beautiful natural spaces. She is an environmental planner specializing in assessing significant environmental impacts of proposed projects and adopting mitigation measures to reduce or eliminate those impacts. In my stories, there are threads of many lessons I’ve learned from my children. My daughters’ and my grandson’s experiences have informed my writing as through them I have the rare opportunity to observe the impacts of their life experiences on helping to determine their perspectives and their paths.”
Daria, you are an artist and an author. What are some of the most notable differences between illustrating your own stories and someone else’s work?
“Well, the most significant difference when I illustrate someone else’s work is that I can’t revise the text, which is why it’s so important for me to choose stories that I, myself, feel as though, I could’ve written. I’m also looking for stories that give me the opportunity to share a visual arc that maybe the author didn’t have in mind. When I write the story, it is a bit easier for me because I can revise the text to serve the art or vice versa. I feel I have more creative freedom, but Illustrating work I don’t write also makes me a much stronger illustrator for my own work.”
Daria, you mentioned that you connected with Cooper as a Diversity Fellow in 2019. Were you aware of his work before applying, and if so, could you share the one that impacted you the most?
“I was first introduced to Floyd’s work at the 2015 SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream written by Kristy Dempsey was illustrated by Floyd Cooper, and it won the Golden Kite that year. At the time, I was working on a story about a girl who loved ballet. It became This Is It, my debut picture book. I used A Dance Like Starlight as a mentor text, but I had no idea he would one day become my mentor. It seemed to be even more providential when I learned he used the subtractive process to paint. Although it was the same process I used, I never knew what it was called, and I never thought I’d meet someone who could help me get much better at it.”
Daria, you talk some about how Floyd Cooper helped nurture your style, especially after taking up oil painting. What inspired you to work in that medium?
“It’s forgiving. It can be worked and re-worked. It was also the first medium I learned as a child painting with my father, but I moved away from it as an adult artist. It felt like a full circle moment to return to it as Floyd’s mentee.”
Now for some more questions for you both: Do you have anything to say about the park? What are some of your own favorite experiences in natural spaces? What was it like working with Yosemite Conservancy?
Carmen Bogan:
“Just one thing. It truly IS the best park ever. And I love working with the Conservancy. They are such a creative team.”
Daria Peoples:
“I was raised in Central California and visited Northern Arizona near the Grand Canyon every summer, so the outdoors were very much apart of my childhood experience. We took wonderful field trips to natural spaces like Tasha’s class, but I also have many fond memories of spending a lot of vacations camping and fishing with my family. I do have to say though I’ve always had a reverence for Mother Nature, and quite frankly, a healthy fear of her power and dominance. I was never the child to venture too far away from the shoreline or explore beyond the trail. I’ve always viewed myself as so much smaller than the natural world and feel it’s very important to respect it. While I was illustrating the book, I took many trips to Red Rock Canyon here in Las Vegas, and I was grateful to have access to a local national park. It was simply a pleasure to work with Yosemite Conservancy. I appreciated their commitment to the representation of the park in Tasha’s Voice and their support for me as the illustrator.”
Illustrations from Tasha’s Voice by Floyd Cooper & Daria Peoples.
What was your favorite childhood book? What was it about it that you loved?
Carmen Bogan:
“The Wizard of OZ. It is so analogous to life.”
Daria Peoples:
“I always sigh when I get this question. Mostly because as a young child, I wasn’t an avid reader. For the most part, I didn’t really enjoy reading until I was in high school when I read books intended for adults, like The Autobiography of Malcolm X or poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes. However, I think it’s important to note that though reading wasn’t my passion early on, I still very much enjoyed the oral stories of the elders in my family. I like to share this because story is innate in all of us, and eventually, a child who is not too interested in reading at a younger age may still grow up to become an author/illustrator. As educators and parents, our only responsibility is to continue to plant story seeds in the hearts and minds of children we love, whether they are in books or the stories our families share during dinnertime.”
Is there anything else you would like to share with the Diverse BookFinder audience?
Carmen Bogan:
“Yes. There is so much being said these days about reading and literacy. I want to encourage young readers to write about their experiences, their hopes and their dreams as well. That too is literacy.”
Daria Peoples:
“If you are here, and you are reading this interview, I honor your presence and applaud your efforts to diversify our industry. Your work is necessary, and I appreciate you fulfilling your purpose to make the world a better place. You may not see immediate results, but you are making an impact for many generations to come. “Keep going,” as Floyd always told me at the end of every session with him.”
Diverse BookFinder would like to thank Carmen Bogan & Daria Peoples for their time and input.
Want to purchase any of the titles discussed above? Visit our BookShop!
Disclosure: We are an affiliate of Bookshop.org & will earn a commission if you make a purchase.
Check out more great author interviews with the Diverse BookFinder.
