Positive Gypsy, Roma and Traveller characters in children’s books can inspire and engage young readers. Gemma Lees advises and offers some recommendations for your primary school library
The first books I ever remember reading as a child were the “1,2,3 and Away!” series with Roger Red Hat, Billy Blue Hat, and Jennifer and Johnny Yellow Hat.
The volumes available at my primary school featured these ruddy-cheeked, able-bodied, white children who lived in nuclear families. The only character who looked any different was Percy Green, a portly boy who hit a cat with a stick and pelted a goat with snowballs.
I also read a lot of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books. Gypsy characters in these books were usually described as dirty, illiterate, up to no good and with bizarre names more suited to pet dogs, such as Nobby and Sniffer.
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