Beyond the Secret Garden Children’s Literature and Representations of Black and Racially minoritised People

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Drawing on and expanding their long-running column for Books for Keeps, Darren Chetty and Professor Karen Sands O’Connor trace how Black and racially minoritised characters have been represented in ‘the secret garden’ of British children’s literature from its earliest stages. Examining how children’s literature has both been shaped by, and shaped, prevailing attitudes towards people of colour, they take a thematic approach that offers teachers and parents contextual knowledge that will enrich how books are discussed with children.    

Dr Darren Chetty taught in primary schools for over twenty years. His essay in the best-selling The Good Immigrant has been used in schools, and universities and shared widely in children’s and young adult publishing. Professor Karen Sands O’Connor is Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield and a former British Academy Global Professor specialising in the history of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic children’s literature and publishing, and the author of three books on children’s literature. In addition to their Books for Keeps column, Darren and Karen advise on CLPE’s Reflecting Realities research and contributed to the CILIP Carnegie Awards Diversity Review.