MBIFEBOOKS

Bazar Masarin 2020:02

Foto: © MbifeBooks

Intervju med Emily Joof Mbife Books

Vad heter din blogg/ditt insta? Vem är du?

My brand is Mbifebooks and you can find me on www.mbife.com Instagram @mbife_books

Hur började det? Varför började du med bloggen/instagramkontot?

In March 2018, one of my greatest fears came to life, my daughter looked at me and told me she didn’t want to be brown anymore. She didn’t want to be different anymore, she wanted to look like “everyone else.” She existed in a world where she felt like she didn’t belong, she was not represented nor included. I decided to focus on enriching her self-esteem. I could not change the world she lived in, but I could change how she lived in the world. We spent even more time together, just talking and playing. I worked with her school to ensure

they were aware and supportive. One thing we did which made such a difference was, reading books where she could see herself. I went through the library in her room and picked all books with African or diasporan characters and we read them over and over. I made up songs for her from the books and I hoped it would help. One evening I was in the kitchen as she was in the bath and I heard her sing “kwela Ella African princess, Kwela mummy African queen, Kwela we are African beauties” it was one of the made songs from the book Jamila’s Dress by Niki Daly which we loved and read so often. Right then, in that moment I knew the change had taken root in her. I decided to create Mbife to bring inclusion and diversity to the fore, and books would be my focus. I started my company to highlight diverse books and also to publish my own series of children’s books which primarily come from a deep-rooted West African experience. Children’s books can act like both mirrors and

windows on the world. Mirrors in that they can reflect on children’s own lives, and windows in that they can give children a chance to learn about someone else’s life. It is important that the voices of people of all backgrounds and ethnicities are amplified and that they see themselves represented equitably across all disciplines and media. However, research suggests that over 80% of characters in children’s books are white – which clearly doesn’t reflect the reality of our world. One of the most powerful forms of representation comes in books, beginning with children’s picture books, as images of all types of people and cultures activate the imagination and help foster respect for diversity and empathy for others. In this way, books and stories can make an enormous difference in dispelling stereotypes and prejudice and building community. It is especially important for babies to see themselves portrayed through books and other media, as self-concept and self-esteem, which form the foundation for children’s socialemotional development, begin developing in infancy. It is true that just featuring a minority character isn’t enough to create quality diverse literature, but it is a first step.

Smaka frukterna /E. Joof, L. Nian & M. Rosen

Vad har du för mål? Vilka är din målgrupp?

My goal is to advocate for the importance of inclusion and diversity in childrens books. Given that I am from the African diaspora , that is the voice that is closest to my experiences, culture and norms and therefore what I advocate for.

Vilken relation har du till barnlitteratur? (professionellt/privat)

In autumn 2019 I released my first children’s book Smaka På Frukterna. It is a story set in the Gambia that introduces the reader to fruits which are common to the region. The story is incredibly simple and the first of its kind. Children get to go beyond Apples, Oranges and Pears to Kabba, Solomsolom and baobab fruit! The book is now available in English, French, Wolof and Swedish, on various platforms like Polyglutt and distributors like Amazon, Bokus, Adlibris etc.

Foto: © MbifeBooks

I am currently working on three more books which will be published by 2021.

Vilka är dina tankar kring barnlitteratur/estetiska uttryck för barn och förmedling av barnlitteratur?

Childrens literature has an important role and power in shaping societies.

The images portrayed, the stories told, those are the ones that become the norm, that challenge our perception of society. Childrens literature must be representative of the lives all children. Through fantasy , fact or fiction, books must help children not only understand the world but also see themselves as part of that world.

Foto: © MbifeBooks

Berätta om de positiva sidorna, berätta om de negativa sidorna av arbetet med bloggen/instagramkontot.

I starting writing on the blog to air out my thoughts, as a sort of therapy. The fact that my writing resonates with people around the world and that we share the same frustrations or that they can find some of my tips useful is a unique experience that I could not be more proud of.

Vilken författare och illustratör vill du lyfta fram speciellt och varför?

Vashti Harrison is a brilliant illustrator and everything she creates seems sprinkled with magic dust. Kayo Mpoyi recently released her first novel although it is not children’s literature, she writes with incredible elegance and provides a modern afroswedish voice that I miss so much from Swedish literature.

Vilka andra bloggar/instagramkonton inspireras du av??

https://www.instagram.com/hereweeread/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/blackbabybooks/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/lundin_johanna/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/elsaochsam/?hl=en

Vad tror du om framtiden för barnlitteraturen och vad tror du om framtiden för dens bloggar/instagramkonton

I see change! I see inclusion, I see minorities writing thier own stories through mainstream publishers or self publishing themselves.

Foto: © MbifeBooks

Emily Joof