Esther Duflo, co-founder and co-director of Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action lab (J-PAL) and 2019 Nobel Prize winner in economics, published a series of ten books for children based on themes of her book 'Rethinking Poverty,' co-written with Abhijit Banerjee. The series, illustrated by Cheyenne Olivier, encourages children to ask questions and breaks down prejudices. The last five volumes were published on 1 September 2023 and highlight the impacts of the climate crisis on the poor.
'Books are essential for the development of young people and the values that we transmit to them. When I was little, the things I read pushed me to ask myself a lot of questions about the world and my responsibility. Unfortunately, children's books on the subject spread a lot of stereotypes,' said Esther.
'The work for my thesis, which focuses on the illustration of poverty in children's albums shows that we often find two pitfalls: miserabilism or heroism. We tried hard not to fall into it,' adds Cheyenne.