“My Big Book of Texas” is not a poem or one story about Texas. Instead, it checks off the to-do list for a lot of early learning — shapes, colors, ecosystems — all through a Texas lens. It’s filled with silly kid humor.
For example, “A” is an armadillo astronaut above the Alamo. “B” is for bat in beautiful boots.
“As an author, I have three parts of my mission, which is humor, heart, and healing,” author and illustrator C.S. Jennings said. “So I want you to open this and just have a great time and have a lot of fun with it.”
C.S. Jennings wrote and illustrated “My Big Book of Texas.” Michael Minasi / Texas Standard
Jennings is a seventh (or eighth) generation Texan and pitched this book to publishers.
“I’ve had it in my heart to do for a really long time. I’ve been sketching cowboys and horses since I was a little kid,” Jennings said.
The example spread he sent out to pitch the book was the section on the Texas ABCs.
“’R’ is for raccoon and rooster rocket over the River Walk. So we’ve got a rocket with a rooster and a raccoon, and then a tiny drawing of the River Walk,” Jennings said.
The illustration even shows tiny dancers on a stage as a boat passes by.
“This book is so much just me sharing the things that I adore about this state,” Jennings said.
Jennings is also an illustrator and has long used animals to help tell his stories. In “My Big Book of Texas,” the cowpokes, farriers, astronauts and art car drivers are all animals.
“This is a larger conversation that happens in children’s literature about representation. It’s so important for every child to see themselves in the work,” Jennings said.
He said he’s used animals because they are diverse.
“You pick up an animal book and it’s not drawing a line, it’s welcoming diversity,” Jennings.
At the same time, Jennings says it was also important for him to have a section in the book about the diverse real people who have made Texas great.
“And we have Sheryl Swoopes in here, Barbara Jordan, who’s one of my personal heroes, and of course, Beyoncé and Selena. And then, Rathna Kumar, who opened the first Indian dance school,” Jennings said.
