Stateside Podcast: Des Cooper's new children's book celebrates intergenerational joy

By April Van Buren,

Published October 3, 2022 at 3:33 PM EDT

Ways To Subscribe

two claymation-like dolls made out of fiber are postitioned up against a book called "Nothing Special"

1 of 3 — CoverJPPRS.png

The cover of and main characters from Desiree Cooper's new children's book titled "Nothing Special." The two characters, Jax and PopPop, are based off of her grandson Jax and her own father. It documents the "real-life buddy" relationship between the two.

Courtesy of Wayne State University Press

Three claymation like doll made out of yarn sit on a porch swing made of our fiber covered in a quilt looking up at fireflies

2 of 3 — NothingSpecialRS2.png

The book takes place in Virginia, where Cooper's parents were born and eventually retired. Cooper, who lived in Detroit for around 30 years, said summer trips to Virginia always felt like "an escape to home."

Courtesy of Wayne State University Press

Two claymation-like dolls made of fiber look down at a newspaper kite while sitting on a bench also made of fiber.

3 of 3 — NothingSpecialRS.png

The artwork for "Nothing Special" was done by artist Bec Sloane, who hand-crafted every element of the illustration from various fabric and fibers, including the clouds, the flowers, the grass, and the characters themselves.

Courtesy of Wayne State University Press

In author Desiree Cooper's new children's book — called Nothing Special — a grandfather and grandson find beauty in the ordinary moments of life — from catching crabs at the beach to laying under the stars. Cooper based the book on the relationship between her grandson Jax and her own father, known in the book as PopPop.

Cooper lived in Detroit for 30 years. But while she was there, she would make frequent trips down to her parents home in Virginia. Cooper said that she realized when writing this book that she was not just going down for the sun and the warmth, but because of what she calls “Black nostalgia for us.”

“Our families have been divided so many times over time,” Cooper said. “During enslavement, after reconstruction. And then, if you look at the great migration that was started in 1917 and went all the way up to 1970. … So for us, nostalgia is reversing that journey and going back south and maintaining those ties.”

a photo of a woman with shoulder-length black hair. She has on a red dress with some flowers printed on it, as well as a straw hat and glasses. — Desiree Cooper is a writer who used to be based in Detroit, but has moved out to Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Apart from the beauty of the story, the book is also illustrated through intricately designed stop motion photographs. Each picture contains a character made out of different fibers, dressed in small articles of clothing, posed in a setting also made out of some kind of fabric or fiber. Illustrator Bec Sloan built the characters and set by hand and arranged each vignette for the story. Cooper said she was blown away by the final result.

"The clouds are fabric, made by hand. The grass is made by hand. The water, there's scenes by the water, that's fabric, sheer fabric layered and layered to make the water. She hand carved crabs. She hand carved ears of corn. Everything is by hand. It is stratospheric."

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode byBlue Dot Sessions.