‘Smart Little Devil’ pushing boundaries of identity
Colorado Springs artist Chan Bird debut children’s book takes on non-binary gender roles, the natural world and more.
“I used to draw out my own books and story lines as a kid, lots of illustrations of silly things,” artist and author Chan Bird tells me as we sit at a bar in the trendy Ivywild neighborhood of Colorado Springs. “But I really didn’t jump into art fully until a couple of years ago. And it’s been a weird rollercoaster ever since then.”
“It was total dabbling before then,” she continues “nothing more than drawing in notebooks.” Which is a somewhat baffling thing to hear, considering the native Coloradan has just released her own hardcover children’s book, the adorable and endearing “Smart Little Devil”. The book follows the life of Seid, a ‘smart, independent and magical non-binary gendered child’ on their adventures living and working on a farm. The story is a fun entry into the themes of the importance of both responsibilities for yourself and others and the importance of play.
Non-binary, (also commonly referred to as gender-expansive, gender-fluid or genderqueer), are broad terminologies for gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine — identities which are thus outside of the gender binary and cis-normativity.
As a young mother of two, Chan recalls her children as a positive impetus for a strong and independent character that was unencumbered by traditional gender. “They were a big, big part of it. I have a child in public school, and he comes home and says things all the time that revolve around what men and women can and cannot do. And I thought it was really interesting, not only that we’re having an impression on them this early in life, but that they are talking about these things with each other.”
“I think kids are really underrated in that way,” she adds. “They pick up on things a lot sooner than we give them credit for.”
Smart Little Devil is full of simple and fun illustrations that focus on natural and mystical parts of nature and farming, a conscious decision Bird says she made early on. “It seems like the way society is set up isn’t necessarily the healthiest for us. Always around technology. So I guess I think it would be better if we tried to sometimes get back to those roots a bit, being closer to the land, and closer to animals and maybe learn some respect for the process.”
As a first time author, the book was a labor of love for Chan, who felt out the idea for a children’s book slowly. “The actual process (of the book) took a long time. It was six months of me just thinking about it. I had an idea. I wanted to portray the idea of this witch-y devil character doing things that looked and felt like self-care. But that took a long time to pin down. Even for as simple as the book is. I had to figure out “What does self-care look like?
“It definitely takes a lot of energy to work on it,’’ she adds. “Surprisingly exhausting.”
And indeed, the words and idea of self-care are a theme throughout the book and our conversation. While the book is fantasy based, it delves into subjects that are very near to the author. “I’ve kind of struggled to take care of myself,” she explains. “I wanted to figure out what that means and what that looks like to me. I think you should take care of what you need, your responsibilities, but also do things for pleasure as well. A balance of things. Both aspects are very important for self-care.”
In Smart Little Devil, Bird also brings to light the fight for representation and acceptance of non-binary gender identity. “I was born a lady, but the idea of gender roles being put on you as a child is a lot of pressure. Some of us can fit into them better than others, but it’s definitely unfair to see people as a one-size-fits-all.” When asked about what she hoped parents and children would come away with after reading Smart Little Devil, she offers “Any person can do these things (the character does). That’s what I would love to get across for kids. There are no gender roles in place in the book.”
Smart Little Devil is available in a hardcover edition at select retailers throughout Colorado Springs and online at blurb.com/b/6993198-smart-little-devil
