From food connoisseur to US Army war veteran to teacher, Winsome Bingham has shaped her voice and experiences into storytelling inspiring the next generation. Now an acclaimed children’s book writer, Bingham’s picture books celebrate the spirit of family and community.
Her latest book, The Walk, is told from the perspective of a little girl accompanying her grandmother on a walk, along with community members, to the voting station to cast their ballots. It is an important message about being heard, being recognised, a message of hope. In fact, since its launched in Miami in September 2023, The Walk, has been embraced by several Public School Systems and libraries across the US.
EXTENDED FAMILY
But most importantly the book emphasizes that family is more than blood relations, it’s about communities as extended families. On the heels of her previous book, Soul Food Sunday which gained the New York Times Best Book of the Year recognition, The Walk is poised to become a bestseller.
“Families are not only a mom and a dad. A child can have two moms, two dads, even the community can step in to offer love, support, and kindness. We always think about blood family. But what about those found families, people that come into your life when you need them and they are there to support you? I think that's what this book does, it underscores that sense of community,” Bingham explained in a conversation with Caribbean Today.
Jamaican-born Bingham knows what it’s like to be a child of the community having been raised on the island in her formative years. And it continued even after migrating to the United States, because we carry our culture with us, she added.
Although it’s a children’s book, The Walk can also remind adults about this element of our culture that we’ve left behind — community. She laments the individualistic psyche that has crept into our lives that is sometimes reflected in children’s books where characters are navigating the world by themselves. Bingham’s agenda is to change that mentality.
“There is this you against the world versus you with your community. If everyone knew they had support and love it would really change the way we do things, the way we think about others, the way we manufacture kindness. We would explore traditions and cultures and people and how we tolerate and accept. But, if kids don't get to see that they don't know what it looks like.”
Winsome Bingham
TRAUMA
Indeed, Bingham’s has always been part of a community of some kind. Being in the US Army is certainly a definition of community if one is to survive. But, as a result of injury and trauma this war veteran unearthed her talent through her writing therapy at the VA hospital.
“There were always signs that I should have been a writer, but I ignored them. It never really dawned on me until I went through therapy at the VA that was part of my treatment… I’m still in recovery. I still go to therapy every week because my trauma is my trauma. It's horrific in the sense that it took me to dark places. I've been through a lot, said Bingham.”
But, this trauma has awakened her creativity. Bingham’s writing is poetic, it has a musicality and a cadence that can easily engage her young audience. She writes with intention and purpose, using language that will teach and inspire without always being literal. The writer explained that it is important for adults, or teachers, to use her stories as teachable moments by gauging how much detail the child needs.
“I’ve been asked, ‘you mentioned the year 1972 and 2008 but didn't give it context’. My answer is I write for four year-olds. They don't need to have knowledge of politics or those things. But the adult, the teacher can make that a teachable moment. Not every child is ready to have that conversation. You are gauging your children, your students, and you decide whether they're ready to have that conversation.”
Yes, it’s about teaching, it’s about learning, but it’s also about telling a good story. That’s what’s important to Bingham. Her stories form in her head, she sees the big picture. Then, following her own structure she sits down and let it flow.
