Interpictorial Allusion and the Politics of "Looking Like" in Allison and Emma's Rug by Allen Say

Whilst many children do not "look like" their birth parents, cross-culturally adopted children are often forced to address this topic within a social context that pathologizes lack of physical resemblance as though it signals a lack of community. A challenge for children's book authors is to address the complex emotions that arise from adoption without imposing a singular narrative outcome. In this article, I examine two picturebooks by Allen Say. Allison centralizes the issue of "looking like," whereas Emma's Rug examines the issue through allusions to European art in Emma's own paintings and in Say's paintings of his protagonist.