August 1, 2021
When a Black girl experiences racism at school, her parents remind her to stay proud of her brown skin. The narrator associates colors with her feelings: Her hands are pink when she's happy, there's blue in her eyes when she's sad, red blooms in her cheeks when she is angry. Brown in her heart is her proud color; it's the color she sees when she looks at herself and what others see when they see her. On her first day of school, she finds she is the only kid with brown skin. She only hesitates for a moment before marching in with her pride intact. But when a White girl tells her she doesn't like her skin color, the girl loses her pride. At home, she tells her parents and abuela, who are all Black as well, about it. They tell her to remember the important people of various ethnicities who have shared her brown skin: people in her life like her own abuela, as well as famous leaders like Kamala Harris and Frida Kahlo. The girl draws pictures of those changemakers and places herself among them, restoring her pride. The protagonist is an engaging character with an interesting perspective on feelings. While racist incidents are rarely so easily overcome, this book provides a helpful jumping-off point for exploring facts, thoughts, and feelings behind racial identity, awareness, and pride. The attractive illustrations are full of personality in vignettes that flesh out the story's text. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A useful tool for digging deeper. (note) (Picture book. 4-9)
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August 1, 2021
Grades K-3 This buoying picture book focuses on a little girl, Zahra, who faces taunting in school over her brown skin color. Zahra associates colors with feelings--purple is nervousness, pink is happiness, red is anger, and brown is pride. But after a girl in her class declares she doesn't like brown, Zahra starts to wish her skin were a different color. When she tells her family what happened, her mother, grandmother, and father remind Zahra of the loving, positive people in her life and in history--all with brown skin, like hers--helping the young girl overcome the negative feelings she developed and feel proud once again. Cheerful illustrations make excellent use of color, providing a set of hues that trails behind Zahra to indicate how she feels. Considering the current racial climate, this text is a timely and welcome addition to early childhood classrooms that can be used in lessons on skin color, feelings, kindness, and how words can hurt others. Appended information offers caregivers guidance on "cultural socialization" and helping children shape their own self--concept.
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