Product Description

A positive and affirming look at skin color, from an artist’s perspective.

Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.

Through the eyes of a little girl who begins to see her familiar world in a new way, this book celebrates the differences and similarities that connect all people.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30481 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780805071634
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 Lena's mother is an artist, so she knows whereof she speaks when she insists that there are many different shades of brown. The two take a walk through their neighborhood by way of illustration, and the friends and relatives they meet along the way aptly reinforce Mom's contention. Their skin colors are compared to honey, peanut butter, pizza crust, ginger, peaches, chocolate, and more, conjuring up delicious and beautiful comparisons for every tint. Katz's pencil-and-gouache pictures joyously convey the range of human pigmentation. Positive and useful. Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Lena discovers that she and her friends and neighbors are all beautiful shades of brown. "I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up," says Lena. Then she sees everyone else in terms of delicious foods: Mom is the color of French toast. Lena's friend Sonia is the color of creamy peanut butter. Isabella is chocolate brown like the cupcakes they had for her birthday. Lena's best friend, Jo-Jin, is the color of honey. Katz wrote and illustrated the story in affirmation of her adopted Guatemalan daughter and her friends, and the diversity that surrounds them. The message is heavy, but it's made palatable by the loving words and the brightly colored, lively illustrations, which are a combination of collage, gouache, and colored pencil. The pictures of Lena and her friends and city neighbors celebrate the delicious colors of the individual people, all brown, and each one different. Hazel Rochman

From Kirkus Reviews
This vibrant, thoughtful book from Katz (Over the Moon, 1997) continues her tribute to her adopted daughter, Lena, born in Guatemala. Lena is ``seven. I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up''; she learns during a painting lesson that to get the color brown, she will have to ``mix red, yellow, black, and white paints.'' They go for a walk to observe the many shades of brown: they see Sonia, who is the color of creamy peanut butter; Isabella, who is chocolate brown; Lucy, both peachy and tan; Jo-Jin, the color of honey; Kyle, ``like leaves in fall''; Mr. Pellegrino, the color of pizza crust, golden brown. Lena realizes that every shade is beautiful, then mixes her paints accordingly for portraits of her friends``The colors of us!'' Bold illustrations celebrate diversity with a child's open-hearted sensibility and a mother's love. (Picture book. 6-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Great book
This is a wonderful book to introduce children to the concept of multiculturalism. I am white, my husband is Mexican and my daughters are dark like my husband. It is wonderful to see a book with a white mother and dark daughter, and it's wonderful to see all the different colored characters. My 4-year-old loves this book and I love reading her a story with a character she can relate to. I highly recommend it.

Excellent Book!
I am a Pre-K/K Teacher. Last school year a child in my class, who had many questions about skin color, instantly attached to this book and it remained a favorite all year long. This is an excellent book that explores the various hues of us in a format that is extremely appealing and inviting to children. It is a great spring board for discussions of color and race with young children. A must have for any early childhood library.

My Favorite Children's Book
I am an elementary school counselor and read this book to second graders. They love the comparisons of skin colors to foods, and it leaves everyone feeling good about the way they look. It is a strong multicultural book, but the presentation is very subtle, and not preachy.