Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s second attempt to join a fast-growing number of celebrities-turned-children’s-book-authors has met a major roadblock.
His publisher, Penguin Random House UK, announced that it will withdraw all copies of his 400-page fantasy novel “Billy and the Epic Escape” for primary school-age children after it was slated for its insensitivity to Aboriginal Australians who are members of the “Stolen Generation”—people forcibly removed from their parents and communities and sent to live with white foster families.
Although set mostly in England, part of the plot features an Indigenous girl living in a community near Alice Springs who is abducted by the book’s villain. Indigenous leaders said it perpetuates racist stereotypes and is “trivialising complex and painful histories.”
CEO of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Commission (NATSIEC), Sharon Davis, called the storyline “damaging” and “disrespectful” and claimed the chapter, titled “To Steal a Child,” implied that First Nations families “are easily swayed by money and neglect the safety of their children ... [which] has been used to justify child removals for over a century.”
According to NATSIEC, the book contributes to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and [their] experiences.”
There were also factual errors in the book, such as the young girl supposedly being from Alice Springs but speaking the language of native tribes from New South Wales and Queensland.
Davis said such errors exposed Oliver’s “complete disregard for the vast differences among First Nations languages, cultures, and practices.”
Oliver had previously released his first children’s book, “Billy And The Giant Adventure,” without causing such a furore last year.
However, Oliver and Random House admitted that no one consulted any Indigenous organisation, community or individual during the current book’s writing or before its publication.
“I am listening and reflecting and working closely with my publisher on next steps.”
For its part, Random House also apologised, saying, “Our mission ... is to make books for everyone, and with that commitment comes a deep sense of responsibility. It is clear that our publishing standards fell short on this occasion, and we must learn from that and take decisive action. With that in mind, we have agreed with our author, Jamie Oliver, that we will be withdrawing the book from sale.”Meanwhile, established authors of children’s books have criticised the celebrity-turned-writer trend, saying it is crowding them out of their market.
