Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White

Written by Saumiya Balasubramaniam

Illustrated by Eva Campbell

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-258-7

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

October 2020

While there are many, many wonderful books about winter and snow and the experiences with both, Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White reminds us that those interactions are not the same for all of us. They are distinct for the young who long to play in the snow, for the fortunate to have shelter from the it, for those familiar and acclimatized to it, and for those who must endure it. When a child and her mother walk home from school, the distinction of their attitudes to the snow is evident. Fortunately, their affection for the other helps them appreciate both perspectives.

From Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White by Saumiya Balasubramaniam, illus. by Eva Campbell

As a girl revels in the snow and ice of their walk home, her mother displays an overabundance of caution and even scorn for winter's elements. "Watch out for black ice" and "Do as you like" are just a few of her protestations as the child glides on the ice and makes footprints in the snow. The child sees ice cream in her snowball and makes snow people while Ma tucks herself deeper into her royal-blue scarf and wishes for the sun.

From Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White by Saumiya Balasubramaniam, illus. by Eva Campbell

But they really aren't that different. The girl knows that her mother loves colour–"So much snow," says Ma. "So monochromatic"–but so does she. She sees their cat, Kitty, in the grey cloud with blue spots for eyes; she is charmed by the rainbow of colours that are scattered by her mother's diamond on her nose; and she sees the brown of maple syrup in the dry leaves. 

From Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White by Saumiya Balasubramaniam, illus. by Eva Campbell

Still by the time they reach home, they can both see the colour of themselves as two drops of brown in a cloud of white snow.

Author Saumiya Balasubramaniam was inspired by her own winter walks with her daughter to write Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White. If the story reflects her own experiences, then it's evident that their two perspectives which may have started out as different–not unusual as they would have different life experiences–ultimately converge, with an appreciation for their differences and acceptance of their similarities.  Two drops of brown would contrast significantly with the whiteness of the snow but they are still similar to each other. As such, Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White definitely speaks to diversity of perspective, of people, and of time and place.

From Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White by Saumiya Balasubramaniam, illus. by Eva Campbell

 

To tell promote both the realism and sentimentalism of the story, Eva Campbell's oil and pastel on canvas illustrations use boldness of colour, even for the snow, but also a softness of stroke. By emphasizing both the realistic and the poetic, Eva Campbell evokes an authentic mother-daughter interaction but also the romance of the snow and their relationship. They may see themselves as two drops of brown in a cloud of white but they are more. They are blue with cold and red with love and it's also courtesy of Eva Campbell's art.

Snow may be cold but Saumiya Balasubramaniam and Eva Campbell's Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White creates the warmth of family and acceptance.

Africville: Book launch (Toronto, ON)

I am sorry I missed posting about the book launch earlier this month (September 13) at the Africville Museum in Halifax but here's hoping that this launch will be successful in making more people aware of this heritage site and take the trouble to learn more about its history.

 •••••••••••••••••••

Join author 

Shauntay Grant

for a celebration of her new picture book

Africville

Written by Shauntay Grant

Illustrated by Eva Campbell

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-043-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

September 2018

on

Saturday, September 29, 2018

from

2 - 4:30 p.m.

at

A Different Booklist

777-779 Bathurst Street

Toronto, ON

Learn more about the book with my review posted here today.

Africville

Written by Shauntay Grant

Illustrated by Eva Campbell

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-043-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

September 2018

Though Africville, a Nova Scotia community founded by former slaves and Black Loyalists in the 1800s, is sadly a legacy of racial discrimination and abandonment, Shauntay Grant chooses to tell the story of community and all the goodness one child sees in Africville.

Africville's story begins with a young girl looking at the community as an observer, seeing its location

at the end of the ocean
 where waves come to rest
 and hug the harbor stones

to its structures

and the houses lay out like a rainbow

From Africville by Shauntay Grant, illus. by Eva Campbell

and the activity of children at play and at home, relaxing and busy. There is fishing and football, rafting, skipping and fishing, food, family and church. This is the Africville of home.

From Africville by Shauntay Grant, illus. by Eva Campbell

Take me to where the pavement ends
and family begins

Though Shauntay Grant shares the girl's observations of Africville as if the child is of that place and time, it only becomes evident at the very end that the girl is visiting the current historic site, looking at the community from a contemporary setting, envisioning the children and families as their lives may have been lived and Africville may have been.

From Africville by Shauntay Grant, illus. by Eva Campbell

But, while Africville is a piece of history of which countless books have been written, including several of youngCanLit, Shauntay Grant's book is not a journalist piece about the community's evolution and tragedies. She has written a joyful account of a neighbourhood of people. The colour in their lives comes from where they are, what they do, and how they feel. There is a respect for the past and for the present, and anticipation for the future.

where memories turn to dreams,
and dreams turn to hope,
and hope never ends.

Shauntay Grant is a poet who brings that sweetness of time and place to her free verse, transporting all readers to the humanity of Africville. Likewise, BC painter Eva Campbell uses vivid colours of acrylic on canvas to bring out Africville's joys and its sense of kinship even with those who would be unrelated. In Africville, everyone belongs.

The legacy that is Africville will spark deep discussions of history and racism but Shauntay Grant and Eva Campbell's Africville will take those discussion sideways to celebrate the Africville that was home and life to so many for over a century.