Genevieve Moulton, “Little Genevieve’s Big Adventure”

There are two things that I have discovered in my time at Geneseo: my love for children’s literature and my fear of the inevitable collapse of the world due to irreversible climate change. I decided to marry these two discoveries and create “Little Genevieve’s Big Adventure.” Little Genevieve (LG)  is based on a drawing I did as a mere kindergartener, writing my first-ever book. The simplicity of the drawing of Little Genevieve is how I once viewed myself. 

I have always supported the notion that everyone carries their inner child with them as they experience their lives. Everyone deep down still holds that childhood innocence and naivety in their world experiences. As a childhood education major, I have always had a fascination about how children perceive the world–specifically, what it must feel like to feel the weight of the world’s problems for the first time and wanting to solve them with childhood naivety. I took this inspiration as Little Genevieve shifts from optimism to dread, realizing that she alone can not solve her problem and no one else is willing to help her. 

I became fascinated at the idea of slowly destroying the innocence of the typical children’s book narrative. Having LG struggle and not be able to succeed over the tasks at hand went against everything any children’s book has ever taught me. As I continue to explore the ideas of Environmental Justice, I find myself seeking comfort in the fact that I will be in charge of educating the next generation of children with unique mindsets and problem solving skills. Though this may be selfishly putting the current environment problems onto the next generation, I know the role of an educator to the mind of a child can be a powerful tool. Though Little Genevieve’s fate has been decided, I hope someone else can find a non-magical solution to the world’s problems.

To view the digital content of “Little Genevieve’s Big Adventure,” click on this hyperlink.