Jerry Pinkney’s granddaughter grew up inside his art studio — and for years, I had his books on my shelf without even knowing his name. Jerry Pinkney illustrated more than 100 children’s books over nearly six decades. He was the first solo Black illustrator to win the Caldecott Medal, the highest honor in children’s book illustration in America.
What I also did not know is that Jerry Pinkney‘s granddaughter grew up inside that studio, watching him work. Today that granddaughter, Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, is an author and illustrator in her own right — and she has written a children’s book that takes the rest of us inside the world she once had all to herself.
In her latest book, Two Artists: Grandad and Me, Charnell opens a door I did not know existed. In my conversation with her on The Color Between the Lines, she walked me through it.
Inside the World Jerry Pinkney’s Granddaughter Knew
Charnelle describes going into her grandfather’s studio as entering a completely different world. Music playing. Art everywhere. Books set aside just for her. She would sink into the oversized leather chair — she is still petite, she laughs — with her feet hovering off the floor, reading pages of books his readers would not see for another year.
She absorbed his process the way children absorb everything — by being present without trying. The music told her what time it was. Upbeat in the morning. Soft music in the evening. You always knew what he was working on by the sound in the room.
| “Going into his art studio was like literally just a different world. You go in and there’s music playing and art everywhere.” |
Most people know Jerry Pinkney through his books. They read the articles. They see the interviews. But they did not get to spend time in his space, watching him work, living the daily life of a man whose art was also simply his life. That is what Charnelle wanted to share. That part of the story. The part that only she could tell.
The Little Girl in His Pages
There is a moment in our conversation that stopped me cold. I asked Charnelle about her favorite of her grandfather’s stories and she mentioned The Little Match Girl — and then added something most people do not know.
She was the model for the illustration. Her grandfather photographed her as a reference and used her image in the book. She put the original sketch and the reference photo in the back of Two Artists: Grandad and Me so readers could see it for themselves.
| “I was the model for him in The Little Match Girl, which a lot of people don’t know.” |
She was not just watching him work. She was in the work. That detail tells you everything about who Jerry Pinkney was as a grandfather — and why his granddaughter was the only person who could write this book.
Why Black Grandfather Stories Belong in Children’s Literature
Charnelle was direct about something that I think deserves its own conversation. There are still a lot of Black stories that need to be told. Stories about Black grandfathers and fathers are part of that category. We are seeing more of them now. But we need to keep adding to it.
Her grandfather and her father both played a major role in shaping how she sees the world and how she puts it on the page. She wrote Two Artists: Grandad and Me to share that bond — not just with the people who already knew Jerry Pinkney’s name, but with every child who deserves to see a Black grandfather at the center of a story about love, creativity, and legacy.
| “We all have a story to tell. Art is about really seeing what’s in front of you.” |
What She Felt While Writing the Book
Jerry Pinkney passed in October 2021. Writing this book was an act of grief and love happening at the same time. I asked Charnelle if she felt his presence while she was putting it together.
She said she would think about what he would say. Remember the times they spent together. Try to recall what he told her when he looked through her art. And then try to put that feeling into the manuscript.
He was on every page. Even the ones she wrote after he was gone.
| 📚 GET THE BOOK Two Artists: Grandad and Me by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow Available wherever books are sold. 🎙️ LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION The Color Between the Lines is available on iHeart Radio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. 🎓 FOR EDUCATORS A free discussion guide for this episode will be available soon. Subscribe at substack.com/@iamestherdillard to be the first to know. |
Your story matters.
— Esther Dillard