LargeUp Interview: Talking Children’s Books + Family with Cedella Marley

Words by Emily Shapiro, Illustrations by Vanessa Newton—

There comes a time in adulthood when you are faced with the challenge of passing on your years of knowledge to a child. The struggle of getting our kids to think we know what we’re talking about is universal. We want them to think the music, styles and slang from our generation is cool, and it’s not usually an easy task.

Fortunately, Cedella Marley, oldest daughter to Bob Marley, singer/songwriter, designer, entrepreneur and humanitarian extraordinaire, has fought the good fight for generations to come. Ms. Marley has added author to her list of titles, creating children’s books that communicate the messages of her father’s music so simply and eloquently that even the most stubborn five year old will be holding a vibe after reading. Her works like Three Little Birds, One Love and her most recent title, Every Little Thing, use lyrics from some of Bob’s best-loved songs to communicate some of the values her family was raised with.

We had our resident children’s book expert, LargeUp contributor and kindergarten teacher Emily Shapiro, chat with her about her books, among other topics. Aside from her many obvious talents, Cedella is extremely insightful about how to best support and enlighten our youth. We highly recommend spreading the love and buying one or all of her books for a child in your life this holiday season.

LargeUp: I’m a kindergarten teacher in New York and I use your books in my classroom, so I’m really interested in speaking with you about them. But I wanted to start by hearing about your journey into writing.

Cedella Marley: From Melody Makers time, I’ve always written songs or choruses. I had forgotten when I wrote The Boy from Nine Miles… that was almost 10 years ago. It’s something that I’ve always loved to do, and something I grew up doing.

LU: There are so many of your father’s songs that have incredible messages for children, how have you gone about choosing the songs to turn into books?

CM: I want to be able to relate the lyrics to them without changing it too much, so with every book I’ve done, I’ve kept the spirit, and just make a few changes because it’s for younger readers.

LU: There are so many that need to be shared this way.

CM: “Smile Jamaica,” “Lively Up Yourself,” “High Tide” and some Melody Makers songs could be perfect [as children’s books]. If I was to really sit down and think about it I would probably find between 20 and 25 songs not just from Daddy but from Mommy’s repertoire too, and the Melody Makers.

LU: You autographed [the book] One Love for my class and I brought it to school on your father’s birthday. I thought this is the coolest thing ever: I’m going to read them an autographed copy of One Love on Bob Marley’s birthday. I was playing his music all day and I pulled it out, and the kids weren’t really that excited. I was much more enthusiastic than they were. But the amazing thing is that, after we read the book, they totally understood the message in it and were able to explain how they followed the same principles in our school, and other things that we could be doing to spread love. That was a really special experience. I used it again in my classroom because a lot of our school’s community was affected by Hurricane Sandy. We did some community service projects and One Love was a perfect book to guide that. So thank you.

CM: No, thank you!

LU: The book has a very strong message. What do you want children to take away when they read it?

CM: I think every child will find someone who looks like them or a member of their family. So it’s relatable. “Little C” was really able to get people together. In Jamaica we say “Puss and Dog can get together, why can’t we love one another.” In the book, she has the chocolate lab, who was Bobby, who was our pet for 17 years and she really brought everyone together to build up the community. It’s like my mother always used to tell us: “Together you are stronger, as brothers and sisters, and friends and family.” I really want to large up Vanessa Brantley-Newton, who did the illustrations. It was easy for me to write it but to collaborate with someone who can really make these characters believable and lovable and liveable [was important] as well.

Read on for Part two of LargeUp’s interview with Cedella Marley

LU: I know some picture book authors don’t have a lot of interaction with the illustrators. You had the opportunity to work alongside her and share your vision?

CM: Yes, I mean I had to. Even down to the chocolate lab, that was our pet. You know, 56 Hope Rd. 56 is the name of the building that Little C lived in and you would see little Marley and things happening throughout the book, and that was because we did work really well together. It’s a bit weird that sometimes they don’t do that, like how can you do that?

LU: I know, I can’t imagine doing it and not having the illustrations be totally in line with the message. So do you have any other projects coming up for children?

CM: I’m going to gather my nieces and nephews because they inspire me. They all say, “ Auntie, why don’t you write a book about teenage girls?” because a lot of my nieces are turning into teenagers and their bodies are changing. So that’s where my head is at right now.

LU: I wonder which song would be best for teenage girls’ issues.

CM: “Satisfy My Soul,” I think. Because at that age, that is all we want, you know: satisfaction.

LU: Yes, that’s perfect! We’ve talked about how the books communicate the message of your father and his music. How have you done that with your own children and your own family? With my students, I so badly wanted them to understand the importance and the epicness of the music, and it’s not easy. Does your family understand it because they were raised in it or has there been some way you’ve communicated it?

CM: I have three boys, 17, 16 and 9, and countless nieces and nephews. My house is always filled with music but not necessarily my father’s music. I want that to be something they experience on their own. And what I try to do in my own life is lead by example. My little one, Skip, he’s the musician in the family. He loves “Oh please don’t you rock my boat…” and sometimes when he’s singing it, I’m thinking “Is he telling me to get out of his room or something?” I think I’m reading more into it than they are. Our home is filled with love and laughter, and that’s just how our life was growing up. Our parents were on the road a lot, [and] we really had fun being together. As far as their grandfather’s music, I let them have their own experience. There’s nothing I want to really teach them but I’m always here if they have questions. I myself maybe can learn something from them.

LU: Do you have a favorite children’s book author?
CM: I don’t. I used to read comic books—the Archie’s and that kind of stuff.

LU: Your family does an incredible amount of charity and non-profit work. Last week I wrote about your t-shirt collaboration with Save the Children and Literacy Boost. Could you talk a little bit about that?

CM: We’re launching it in 10 African countries and we’re trying to raise $150,000. For every 10,000 raised we can supply one country with 10 new book banks and refills for the book banks, for schools and communities. This is actually a program I hope to implement it all over Jamaica and also other Caribbean countries. Because I think it’s something that could work.

LU: I read that the money is also going to be used to train teachers and volunteers and library workers, developing more of a self-sustaining system…

CM: Exactly. Teachers, students, community members, build the skills. When I was younger I did like to read but I went from a little teenager reading the comic books and then an older teenager into Danielle Steele and romance novels. But reading was always important. The whole program is about pick up one book and read, and then pick up another. I think it’s a great program and I think Save the Children is a great organization for us to be partners with.

LU: I was reading about your new t-shirt line Cho! and where some of the profits from that are going. Could you share about that?

CM: I was born at [Jamaican hospital] Jubilee, a bunch of us kids were actually born there, and I just went back there to do a tour because we donate stuff to them all the time. My first time physically being there, I was speechless. I could not believe for such a beautiful building on the outside, once you got inside you’re like, what’s this? How can people be having babies and the babies are laying on the same beds as the mother? It’s not sanitary and basically, you don’t do that. I came away and said we have to do something. We gave ultrasound machines, so you could at least see that your baby is alive. And now it’s time for us to do something else and out of Cho! we hope to get a lot of goodness.

LU: What are some of the things in your opinion that could be done to improve the education system in Jamaica and in the US as well.

CM: The funny thing is Jamaica has some of the best educators. Growing up I had some of the best teachers. For one or two years, Daddy packed us up and moved us to Delaware and I was pushed a grade ahead. I always used to brag, it’s because I’m Jamaican. I just thought we were always smarter. Nowadays, what kids have to realize is, to learn we actually have to show up.I think for Jamaica, a lot of kids, they’re not showing up. And we also need proper resources. There have been significant advances in education in Jamaica but the existing system is failing. Rural and poor urban children suffer from unequal access to quality education. The educational system not only in Jamaica, it needs a makeover in order to provide all children, not just some, with the opportunity to learn.

LU: The culture and people in the Caribbean have had a lot of influence in the US and all over the world. Can you remember a time or do you have any stories or revelations when you felt like “Wow, what has happened in my culture is huge and really affecting people.”

CM: Reggae is big. Every country in the world has a dancehall artist or a reggae artist. Everybody is rocking red, gold and green even though it’s not the Jamaican colors. And that’s the power of Jamaica. We can convince you of something that’s not true. Everyone who has red, gold and green thinks that it represents Jamaica and it doesn’t. It’s nice to see how wide everyone has embraced our culture, and I’m not just talking Rastafarian [culture] but you can have movies like Cool Runnings. That’s how blessed we are as a people and we have to recognize that we are blessed because that’s the only way we will receive more blessings. I’ve had many of those moments but it’s just life. It’s not something that doesn’t happen often.