“My book would have him there simply because he should have been there all along.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, “widely considered the first picture book to star a black child.”

I was a big fan of The Snowy Day as a child. I loved the boy’s pointy hood and the shape of the snow angels it made. I loved the quiet narration. I loved the way that it makes the world feel so big. I still do.

Thanks to Sesame Street, two full generations of Americans have grown up in a city brownstone, even if we didn’t realize it. It’s worth recognizing that The Snowy Day helped make that happen.