A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day by Andrea Davis Pinkney (review)

In free-verse poetry addressed to Peter, the “brown-sugar boy” of The Snowy Day, author and editor Pinkney tells the story of Ezra Jack Keats’ life, writing, and creation of the pioneering and award-winning title. The book traces Keats’ parents’ immigration from Poland to America, Ezra’s childhood in a poor, hardworking Jewish family with artistic longings, and his work with the WPA when his father’s death meant art school was no longer a possibility. Some photographs of a charismatic little African-American boy in Life magazine inspired Keats for years, and finally, when he became a book illustrator, he got the chance to feature a character like that little guy, creating a mold-breaking legacy of books with brown-skinned protagonists and universal themes. The poetry is somewhat uneven and the panegyric to Peter is a little lengthy, but it’s a heartfelt and thoughtful look at an artist’s growth and a single individual’s effect on a genre. Johnson and Fancher effectively build on Keats stylistically in their mixed-media art; they employ collage elements in both a contemporary and a period manner, and the palette evokes mid-century sensibilities without being kitschy. Curricular opportunities abound here: contemporary youngsters may be surprised to hear how the literary landscape has changed, and this would provide an accessible prompt for discussions of inclusion and diversity. Prose end matter describes Keats’ legacy and his artistic style and provides a list of his works.