illustrations

We, D'Avellonne van Dijk and Loulou Drinkwaard, founded Uitgeverij Wilde Haren in the summer of 2020. We have been working on representation in stories and illustrations for some time. D'Avellonne from her work as an illustrator and Loulou as a Dutch teacher at Rotterdam MBO schools. One day we went to a used bookstore looking for children's books with images and characters that looked like us. We have seen the most beautiful picture books with images of playing children, astronauts, elves, witches, knights and other magical creatures. None of these (main) characters had an appearance that matched what we looked like when we were children. The characters did not deviate from the Western norm.

Children are not aware of the lack of recognizable role models. However, it does do a lot unconsciously. When Loulou used to draw her family – with her black father and white mother – she spent most of her time on her mother: she looked like a princess. D'Avellonne, with a black mother and a white father, was more rebellious: she drew a lot of black figures. When the Black Lives Matter movement broke through in Rotterdam, words were suddenly given to what we have always felt was missing. We didn't want to let that spark go out. “You are good with language, I am good with images,” D'Avellonne said.

And with that statement, Uitgeverij Wilde Haren was founded.

Why do we publish children's books? What you miss from an early age is difficult to heal later. The younger you can recognize and position yourself, the better. Inclusion is our focus. We don't want young children to have to choose between a stereotypical story about hairstyles or about a white hero. Color goes without saying, we want to show that you can be anything you want.