Pink Trucks by Sam Clarke
Sam Clarke is a debut author with Five Quills. He talks to us about the inspiration behind his first picture book, Pink Trucks, which gently challenges gender stereotypes in a fun, rhythmical story.
“We HATE pink!” shouted my 6-year-old son and his friend as they ran, laughing, to the school gates. I turned, wide-eyed, to his friend’s equally bewildered parent. Where has this come from?! We discussed how we thought we’d raised our children removed from ridiculous stereotypes. It’s probably just playground talk, we consoled ourselves, knowing that there was probably a lot we could be better at. “You should write a children’s book about this!” said the parent. And at that point, the seed for my first book, Pink Trucks was sown.
Unlike many fathers in the UK, I had been lucky enough to have extended (3-month) periods of shared parental leave for each of our two children. My experiences as a stay-at-home dad during these times (and the return to work) had brought into focus many gender stereotype issues and the harm they can do. I was aware of many published picture books (rightly) promoting the girls can do anything message but fewer stories told from the perspective of a little boy. The potential to take something traditionally very boyish and turn it on its head appealed.
After numerous ideas and edits, I came up with Pink Trucks, which tells the story of Stink, who loves both trucks and the colour pink. Naturally, he decides he wants a pink truck to add to his collection but he can’t find one anywhere. With the help of his elder sister, he decides to take matters into his own hands by making a pink truck using recycled materials and re-using parts of old toys. Stink’s previously sceptical and ‘rule-following’ friends, Pat and Matt, are awe-struck by what he has made. But not young Ned, who is more interested in borrowing Stink’s truck-print blanket to swaddle his doll.
I wanted the story to be fun and light-hearted with a deeper message at the heart of it. In that way, young children can enjoy it without actively feeling that they are being taught anything. I also hope that parents and teachers will use the story to start conversations with children of different ages. They might be simpler conversations with younger children about girls’/boys’ toys or more developed conversations with slightly older children on issues such as the portrayal of gender roles/jobs/character traits etc. I also hope the ending, coming from my own experiences as a mechanical engineer, will be useful in promoting STEM learning in children (just wait until you see the pink truck I’ve made!). I can’t wait to take this book into schools with my upcoming events. We’re going to have a lot of fun!
I was delighted when Five Quills first told me they had approached Cory Reid to illustrate Pink Trucks. Cory’s fun style really chimed with what I had written and it was an amazing experience seeing his initial roughs transform over time into the finished book! As a debut author the whole journey has been new and exciting and it’s hopefully only the start of my parallel author/engineer career!
Pink Trucks by Sam Clarke, illustrated by Cory Reid, is published by Five Quills on 18th April 2024, paperback. ISBN 9781912923373.
Event enquiries / further information: catherinewardpr@gmail.com
