I Walk With Vanessa – by Kerascoët
Schwartz & Wade
Within this wordless book, Kerascoët uses cheerful, cartoon-like drawings of children to tell a powerful story about a simple act of kindness. In a classroom of children with a variety skin colors, the new student is a small, dark-skinned girl who is sitting and feeling alone. On her way home from school, a white boy bullies her. His facial expressions and posturing within a sea of red shows his anger toward her. This scene is witnessed by a group of children, and one brown skinned girl in particular is shaken by seeing her classmate run home crying. The next morning this thoughtful, caring child waits for the bullied girl at her front door. Hand-in-hand, she escorts her to school gathering other classmates along the way. By the time they reach the doors of the school, the newcomer is surrounded by a sea of new friends and is no longer lonely.
Kerascoët (a husband and wife team) makes it easy for even the youngest children to follow the story. Their characters jump out from the ample white spaces on the pages and the two-page spreads help to propel the story to its happy ending. The simple drawings capture the hurt of being bullied and the joy of friendship. Although this story is geared for younger children, it easily can be used with students of any age.
Possible Discussion Pathways:
Note: These topics and their depth depends on the age of the students
- Bullying: what is it and what to do about it when it happens
- How can one act of kindness begin to change a classroom community?
- How to talk about skin color (both the science and its cultural implications)
- What does it mean to be a friend?
- How can you take a stand for yourself or someone else?
- Do stories always need words to be understood? How did these illustrators convey the emotions of the characters through drawings?
