Representation: what our art must get right
A book where a child is the hero only works if the hero is really them. Cartoon styles drift toward lighter skin, looser hair and one kind of face unless they are told not to. So we tell them, on every page, and we check.
What we keep exactly
- Skin tone. The exact tone from your photos or your description, named in the painting instructions for every page.
- Hair. Colour, texture and style: coils, locs, braids, twists, puffs, a fringe, a buzz cut, no hair yet.
- Head coverings and clothing that matters. A hijab, a patka, a bonnet, a cap.
- Glasses, hearing aids, braces, a wheelchair, a birthmark, a gap-toothed grin. If it is part of them, it is in the book.
- Their name, spelled their way. Accents and all, on the cover and in every caption.
How we do it
You tell us
The character builder asks about skin tone, hair texture and style, head coverings and details like glasses or hearing aids, whether you start from photos or not. Each answer becomes a “keep this exactly” line in the painting instructions.
A person checks every page
Before a book goes out, a person compares every page with your photos or description. Pages that drift are painted again.
You can still say no
If anything is not right when your book arrives, reply to the delivery email within 14 days and we re-illustrate the pages you flag at no charge.
What we will not do
We will not “lighten”, “soften” or otherwise change a child’s features to fit a style, and we will not ship a page that does. If our tools cannot draw your child well, we will tell you and refund you rather than send something that is not them.
The stories
Our stories are set in homes, gardens, neighbourhoods and classrooms that could be anyone’s. Family members will be yours too: stories where the grandmother in the pictures is your child’s grandmother, described by you, are coming next. Nothing about a holiday, a food or a place of worship is a default; those details are yours to choose. If a story ever assumes something about your family that is not true, we want to hear about it.
This page is a promise, and we would rather be held to it than admired for it. Questions: reply to any of our emails.