Key Characteristic #2: Sociopolitical and Historical Currents

Leo and Diane Dillon do not shy away from big sociopolitical and historical issues. They consciously choose to illustrate books that fit in with their politics. "Earth Mother" is an allegory; though Earth Mother is the character in the book, she also represents Gaia (in other words, all of Nature and our Earth that we live on).

As Earth Mother wanders, she finds that everyone has complaints. Man complains about mosquitoes, saying the world would be perfect if she had made it with more delicious frogs and less pesky mosquitoes. Frog complains about Man catching him and eating him. Mosquito complains about Frog eating him. But Earth Mother walks on, smiles, sighs. "The world, in its own way, was perfect."

The respect in this book for nature as it is and women is evident in the illustrations. Earth Mother is gorgeous, graceful, intelligent, natural, wise, patient, and even humorously droll when listening to their concerns. She rejoices on one page, with her arms in the air celebrating the "sage covered deserts." She is musical, playing a mandolin-type instrument on one page.

The Dillons also wrote one of the most moving children's picture books I have ever seen, "The People Could Fly." This book combines fantastical elements about how it was said that long ago, the African people could fly, with realistic elements about slavery. For a photo of the most moving painting in the book and a description of the heart-wrenching scene, please click here.

In "Many Thousand Gone," the companion to "The People Could Fly," the Dillons illustrate for Virginia Hamilton again, illustrating various moments in slave history from the beginning of slavery to the end. Illustrious historical figures like Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth are shown in vivid color, which may be much more exciting for students than black and white realistic photos.