STORY & PICTURES BY is the first documentary to take audiences behind the scenes of the new golden age of children’s picture books —a time when all children can see characters and life experiences that mirror their own on the page and learn about those who are different; a time when creators come from diverse communities and backgrounds; and a time when instead of keeping the hard stuff out of stories for children, we put it in and provide context and counternarrative. Yet, it is also a time when the art form itself is under attack because of its immense power in shaping the worldview of children.
The film follows three rising stars in the kid’s lit world – Christian Robinson, an in-demand illustrator, who is working on his most personal book to date about a child visiting their mother in prison; Yuyi Morales, a Caldecott-honor-winning artisan and self-taught bookmaker who tackles themes of migration and immigrant identity in her stories; and Mac Barnett, a New York Times best-selling author of over 50 children’s books, who wrote a picture book biography of Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny) and hosts a successful international book-club show.
We meet these creators during a turbulent time in the lives of children marked not only by the global pandemic, but also by political divisiveness, racial violence, culture wars, book banning, and the climate crisis. These times call for the voices of artists and creators, and kid’s bookmakers heed the call through experimental and honest new work that draws upon their own childhoods (which were not fairytales), dives into the issues of the day, and helps all children feel seen and make sense of the changing world around them.
At a time when everything is becoming digital, we are producing more children’s picture books than ever before because no other art form does what the picture book does – brings families together in a shared experience of story, instills written and visual literacy, and creates the narrative for a new generation.
