As President of USM (the first African-American in that role), Rodney Bennett is the Keats Foundation’s partner in our mission to promote diversity in children’s literature. After all, USM is home to the EJK Book Award and the Keats Archive. So it makes perfect sense that President Bennett interprets Peter’s Chair as a story about moving forward and embracing change.
“In a way that only Ezra Jack Keats could capture, he reminds us of the innocence of childhood as we begin to embrace letting go of the things that once seemed so important. We can all follow Peter’s example as we progress into new stages of life and leave the past behind us.”