The Revelation and Representation of Disability in Two Mates and the Book of Colours Enhances Understanding of an Individual’s Differences and Capacities.
The revelation and representation of disability in Two Mates and The Book of Colours enhances understanding of an individual’s differences and capacities.
Children’s literature can be traced back to oral-stories and songs, way before printing and publication was even invented. It wasn’t until the 1940’s, however, that authors began writing literature for a youth’s perspective based on their wants and needs. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, published in 1951, was a great push for this movement, and this new sense of realism in children’s literature opened the way for the characterisation and portrayal of disability (Gervay, 2004). Soon after, the Social Model of Disability was developed in 1966 by Paul Hunt, which identified “ways to establish social equity that do not depend on a medical response, but on modifying man-made societal arrangements” (Saunders, 2004). Since this, books with disabled characters have emphasised the reality of medical conditions, and have also highlighted the influence of social attitudes on a disabled person’s socialisation and sense of equality. This is particularly seen in Melanie Prewett’s Two Mates, and Menena Cottin’s The Black Book of Colours. Beckett refers to these examples as ‘inclusion literature’, which is “concerned, above all, with providing non-disabled children with accurate information about the lives of disabled people and promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people” (Beckett et al., 2010). In this research, we will look at these two works and analyse how disability is represented and revealed to children through characterisation and illustration to develop their understanding of an individual’s differences and capacities.
Melanie Prewett’s Two Mates was published in 2012, and is based on a true story of two young boys in the town, Broome. Written in first person, Two Mates follows the journeys of Jack, the narrator, and his best friend Raf. Together, the two boys search for hermit crabs, fish for salmon,
Children’s literature can be traced back to oral-stories and songs, way before printing and publication was even invented. It wasn’t until the 1940’s, however, that authors began writing literature for a youth’s perspective based on their wants and needs. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, published in 1951, was a great push for this movement, and this new sense of realism in children’s literature opened the way for the characterisation and portrayal of disability (Gervay, 2004). Soon after, the Social Model of Disability was developed in 1966 by Paul Hunt, which identified “ways to establish social equity that do not depend on a medical response, but on modifying man-made societal arrangements” (Saunders, 2004). Since this, books with disabled characters have emphasised the reality of medical conditions, and have also highlighted the influence of social attitudes on a disabled person’s socialisation and sense of equality. This is particularly seen in Melanie Prewett’s Two Mates, and Menena Cottin’s The Black Book of Colours. Beckett refers to these examples as ‘inclusion literature’, which is “concerned, above all, with providing non-disabled children with accurate information about the lives of disabled people and promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people” (Beckett et al., 2010). In this research, we will look at these two works and analyse how disability is represented and revealed to children through characterisation and illustration to develop their understanding of an individual’s differences and capacities.
Melanie Prewett’s Two Mates was published in 2012, and is based on a true story of two young boys in the town, Broome. Written in first person, Two Mates follows the journeys of Jack, the narrator, and his best friend Raf. Together, the two boys search for hermit crabs, fish for salmon,
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