Zac and Jac by Cathy Jenkins
Author Cathy Jenkins is new to our blog and she has written a guest blog about her book, Zac and Jac. Dealing with the heavy subject matter of racism, she explores why this is a theme in her story.
Almost without exception, the first thing that anyone asks me when I tell them that I am going to have a children’s book published is, ‘What’s it about?’
I usually get the feeling that they’re anticipating an answer about an epic space adventure or a family of mischievous meerkats, because their eyes widen and there’s a hint of a smile beginning to form, as if getting ready to say, ‘Oh how lovely!’
Then I say, ‘Racism,’ and there’s a definite flicker of surprise, which rapidly turns into a look that says, Jeez Cathy! Hardly a barrel of laughs!
Yep, I get it. Racism isn’t a fun theme by any stretch of the imagination. Do children really need to be reading about such distasteful matters?
Believe me, I really wish they didn’t. But in my experience as a teacher and as a mother of children of Caribbean/Welsh heritage, I’d have to say that I’m afraid that they do. Anyone in any doubt just needs to switch on the news at any given time to see that we have a massive problem with racism in our society.
Where does it start? No one is born a racist, so how does someone turn into one?
Zac and Jac is the story of nine-year-old Jac’s growing awareness of racism and as the title would suggest, the story centres around his friendship with Zac. I tried to approach the subject in a gentle, sensitive way, taking what I saw as a common scenario – prejudices that are casually passed down from generation to generation – as the main premise. I wanted to write a story which would help children to recognise racism in its many forms and to empower them to challenge it when they saw it (even if that happens to be within their own family). Surely, if we can educate children about racism, we can help to break the cycle.
The theme of football features heavily in the story. Unfortunately, football and racism seem to go hand in hand and I know quite a few … let’s just call them ‘reluctant readers’, who just might be persuaded to glance at a book if it’s about football. One of the first people to read the initial draft was Kate Mills at Show Racism the Red Card, an organisation dedicated to tackling racism in and out of football. Kate kindly took the time to provide invaluable feedback. A key moment in Zac and Jac is a school visit from some footballers to address the issue of racism (I have been privileged to have attended such sessions myself over the years). Incorporating the ‘challenge toolkit’ into this part of the story was Kate’s suggestion and I feel that this added a useful new dimension, providing kids with some clear strategies for tackling difficult situations.
The book doesn’t pretend that racism is a simple problem to fix but I would like to think that it leaves the reader with a sense of hope for a better future and the message that we can all play a part in that.
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation.