Laura Henry-Allain MBE’s career in children’s media is rooted in Caribbean cultural authenticity. As a St. Lucian-British storyteller, producer, educator and consultant, she strives to incorporate real Caribbean culture into children’s media shared across the world. Henry-Allain is the creator of the award-winning animated children’s TV series “Jojo and Gran Gran”, a show that chronicles the adventures of 4-year-old Jojo and her grandmother in London. The show is heavily influenced by Henry-Allain’s lived experiences with her St. Lucian grandmother and is originated from her self-published picture book series.
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- I feel in the Caribbean we are natural storytellers, and I feel this is where I get my storytelling passion from. Most of my characters in my books are at times based on family members, their personalities, names and more.
- I do believe there is more to be done in terms of more Black British stories. Recently, there have been global cuts from networks, which does have an impact on shows that are being developed
- If a child is of Caribbean heritage, they will likely be familiar with cornmeal porridge. This is the mirror. The child sees themselves and their identity and culture in the book. The windows are how other children become curious as to what cornmeal porridge is, and through the sliding glass doors, children enter a different world, Henry-Allain says.
- Authentic representation is very important, and it is crucial that we see the nuances. I have been overwhelmed with the response from people sharing how much they love my work and that they never saw representation growing up and now their children and grandchildren can, she says.
Photo courtesy by Laura Henry-Allain MBE
Jojo and Gran Gran”, is inspired by Henry-Allain’s family, especially her grandmother Marie Helene, who died in 2009 at age 101. Her grandmother was part of the Windrush Generation, a group of Caribbean migrants who came to the United Kingdom after World War II, when the British government encouraged Caribbean people to relocate and help rebuild Britain.
[Additional Read: Speaking in Roots: How Twossaints Is Bringing Kwéyòl Back to Life ]
After migrating from St. Lucia, Marie Helene built a family in the U.K. Henry-Allain was extremely close with her grandmother and maintained a strong connection even after she moved back to the Caribbean. The other women in Henry-Allain’s family also inspired her work, as their natural storytelling abilities fueled her own creative drive. That tradition of oral storytelling became generational wisdom and remains central to the children’s media she creates today.
I feel in the Caribbean we are natural storytellers, and I feel this is where I get my storytelling passion from. Most of my characters in my books are at times based on family members, their personalities, names and more.
Henry-Allain’s work on “Jojo and Gran Gran” has paid off in historic fashion. The show made history as the first Black British animated series to earn a BAFTA award in 2022. Taiya Samuel, who voices the title character Jojo and is also of St. Lucian heritage, won the Young Performer Award for her voice work on the series. Henry-Allain hopes her success will encourage more Black British animation to be developed and produced. With cuts across the media sector on a global scale, she has seen firsthand how Black creators are disproportionately impacted by funding reductions.
I do believe there is more to be done in terms of more Black British stories. Recently, there have been global cuts from networks, which does have an impact on shows that are being developed
Having broken barriers in British media, Henry-Allain works to support emerging creatives through initiatives such as her “Laura, How Do I?” free webinar series. In these events, she answers commonly asked questions from her audience on publishing and production, covering topics ranging from television development and securing an agent to book publishing. “Laura, How Do I?” is Henry-Allain’s way of sharing expertise with the next generation of storytellers hoping to follow in her footsteps.
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Henry-Allain also believes children’s media is a powerful force in shaping how children see themselves. Nuanced, authentic representation is central to the excellence she creates both on the page and on the screen. She credits American scholar Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s essay Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors with transforming how she views her work. In the essay, Bishop argues that, “books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author.”
By incorporating specific elements of Caribbean culture, such as St. Lucian Kweyol and dishes like cornmeal porridge, Henry-Allain provides mirrors for Caribbean children across the diaspora to see themselves reflected in the stories they consume. At the same time, people from all walks of life can experience her work as a window, engaging with experiences different from their own and broadening their understanding of the world.
If a child is of Caribbean heritage, they will likely be familiar with cornmeal porridge. This is the mirror. The child sees themselves and their identity and culture in the book. The windows are how other children become curious as to what cornmeal porridge is, and through the sliding glass doors, children enter a different world, Henry-Allain says.
She credits the hundreds of collaborators behind “Jojo and Gran Gran” as essential to the show’s success. St. Lucian heritage expert Ros Attille was the development producer at CBeebies when the show was greenlit and later became an executive producer, greatly influencing how it was produced and distributed. Producer Tom Cousins also supported the project and took time to deeply research St. Lucian culture to help build an authentic body of work.
Whether collaboration comes from co-workers or generations of family, Henry-Allain knows firsthand that a creative project can only reach its full potential when people support one another.
Authentic representation is very important, and it is crucial that we see the nuances. […] I have been overwhelmed with the response from people sharing how much they love my work and that they never saw representation growing up and now their children and grandchildren can, she says.
To learn more about Laura Henry-Allain and her work, visit her official website.
