What do you do when your best friend retreats to the safety of the red chair feeling sad?
Picture book idea | Disability and Mental Health Themes | Initial Character Development.
This project was informed by research into contemporary illustrations of disability and mental health in editorial and children’s picture books. Portrayal of people living with a disability and mental health often reflect unintentional prejudice or misconceptions, many depictions show inspirational figures or those confronting adversity.
Everyday narratives are often overlooked, so I wanted to reflect disability and mental health narratives in an alternative and empowering way. I wanted the reader to have an open dialogue and apply their own set of meanings and circumstances to the story.
The characters are not portrayed facing adversity or seen as inspirational, nor are they defined by gender or disability. In a similar vein the character with a physical disability is not initially obvious and clues to their character are formed before their disability is revealed.
A series of ceramic mugs, plates and other products featuring the main characters can be seen on this site
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