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French Toast
Phoebe, the daughter of a white French-Canadian mother and a Jamaican English-speaking father, dislikes her school nickname of French Toast. Gently prompted by her blind grandmother, she uses descriptions of familiar foods from both cultures to explain the family's varied skin colors and realizes she can take ownership of the nickname proudly.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2016
55 people want to read
About the author
Kari-Lynn Winters
38 books33 followersKari-Lynn Winters is an award-winning picture book author, playwright, and scholar who enjoys being in the classroom in any of these capacities. She holds a position at Brock University as a full professor of drama-in-education, dance-in-education, and literacy. Her graduate work, which was completed at the University of British Columbia, focused on combining the arts with reading and writing.
When Kari-Lynn began to write children’s picture book manuscripts and submit them to publishers about 22 years ago, people often shook their heads, advising her to write novels instead.
“It is so difficult to get picture books published in these times,” they said.
But Kari-Lynn persisted, continuing to collect, read, research, and write picture books. Her persistence paid off. Today, 31 books (picturebooks, poetry, non-fiction) that Kari-Lynn wrote have been accepted for publication. In addition, she has had academic chapters and articles about multimodality and student literacy published by Heinemann and in The Reading Teacher.
Kari-Lynn says the best thing about writing for children is that she can share silly ideas in funny and interactive ways and that she can talk to children about their own experiences as young authors.
When Kari-Lynn began to write children’s picture book manuscripts and submit them to publishers about 22 years ago, people often shook their heads, advising her to write novels instead.
“It is so difficult to get picture books published in these times,” they said.
But Kari-Lynn persisted, continuing to collect, read, research, and write picture books. Her persistence paid off. Today, 31 books (picturebooks, poetry, non-fiction) that Kari-Lynn wrote have been accepted for publication. In addition, she has had academic chapters and articles about multimodality and student literacy published by Heinemann and in The Reading Teacher.
Kari-Lynn says the best thing about writing for children is that she can share silly ideas in funny and interactive ways and that she can talk to children about their own experiences as young authors.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 27, 2018
How can one describe colour? Phoebe is walking with her Nan-ma one day, when the children call her the one nickname she hates, "French Toast". Her grandmother wonders if it is because of her French-Jamaican accent, but Phoebe admits that it relates to her skin colour. Having never seen colour, Nan-ma wonders how Phoebe would describe it. Phoebe makes many food-related parallels with colour and scrumptious foods. Soon, Phoebe does not see the nickname as been quite that harmful, but more a heavenly one that helps her think of the sweet person she has become. Neo liked the story for its drawings, while I enjoyed the wonders of the approach towards colour and individuals. I hope Neo does not have to face too much racism as he gets older, though if he takes the 'French Toast' approach, things will be less jagged glass and more a plate of heavenly food.
February 25, 2018
A heartwarming book that celebrates diversity, and the importance of embracing your true self! I loved the beautiful artwork, which accompanied the story. I can’t wait to read this aloud to my students. ❤️
March 1, 2018
An accessible read for children to explore the beauty of our differences.
April 22, 2020
I gave this book 5 stars because of the important message that is is giving. I also love the illustrations, as they are super realistic and have very soft edges. The theme of this book is important for all children to know, and I just love the overall feel of it all together.
French Toast is the story of Phoebe, who has a Jamaican father and a Canadian mother. She looks different from her peers, and she feels badly about it. One day, when she is on a walk with her blind Nan-ma, some of the kids in her class make fun of her. Nan-ma wants to know what her skin color is, and what her son and daughter in laws skin look like too. Phoebe starts comparing all of them to foods, like peach yogurt, or syrup. Phoebe compares her own to french toast. The whole message of the book is important for both sides of the bullying. The bully, and the bullied. For the bully, it is important for them to read this book and understand that people are different and that is something they will have to get used to. For the bullied, it is important for them to read this book and understand that everything about them no matter what is beautiful to those that love them and they should love themselves too! The illustrations are super realistic, but with very soft edges where everything could almost melt together. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!
French Toast is the story of Phoebe, who has a Jamaican father and a Canadian mother. She looks different from her peers, and she feels badly about it. One day, when she is on a walk with her blind Nan-ma, some of the kids in her class make fun of her. Nan-ma wants to know what her skin color is, and what her son and daughter in laws skin look like too. Phoebe starts comparing all of them to foods, like peach yogurt, or syrup. Phoebe compares her own to french toast. The whole message of the book is important for both sides of the bullying. The bully, and the bullied. For the bully, it is important for them to read this book and understand that people are different and that is something they will have to get used to. For the bullied, it is important for them to read this book and understand that everything about them no matter what is beautiful to those that love them and they should love themselves too! The illustrations are super realistic, but with very soft edges where everything could almost melt together. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!
July 10, 2017
Not a fan of the artwork here because it's in that style that looks mostly illustrated except for people's faces which look Photoshopped in- that always weirds me out (uncanny valley and all that). Also, the text is pretty clumsy, and comparing skin colors to foods is pretty cliche, right? I mean, it's enough of a thing that I've seen it mocked several times- my favorite being If White Characters Were Described Like People Of Color In Literature. Overall not my favorite.
June 26, 2017
As a young girl guides her blind grandmother on a Saturday morning walk, she is called an insulting name. Now it is her grandmother's turn o be a guide as she asks her granddaughter to describe the colors of the world through the scent and smell of food. Through this contemplation, readers will begin to see the richness of a multicolored world and how we all belong. A thoughtful commentary on race, skin color and culture.
March 2, 2021
I enjoyed this book about skin color explained by a young girl using food metaphors (Dad's skin is like warm banana bread, Mom's is swirled peach yogurt, etc.) I have never thought about skin color in those terms, but the author uses them to evoke wonderful connotations and memories. This is a great book for either one-on-one reading or a group read aloud to discuss skin color and diversity.
July 22, 2017
I really like the idea of this book, but the text felt a little clunky.
April 8, 2018
An absolutely beautiful book about diversity, bullying and love.
July 24, 2019
On a walk with her blind Nan-ma, Phoebe describes different skin tones using her favorite food.
March 9, 2020
An interesting approach to discussing skin colour and a representation of a blind character.
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April 5, 2020Lovely descriptions children can relate to about differences.
I read this as an illustrated e-book during the Covid-19 quarantine
I read this as an illustrated e-book during the Covid-19 quarantine
April 20, 2021
Delicious way to describe color. I'm always a sucker for relationships between a grandmother, Nan-ma, and her grandchild.
February 13, 2022
One of my favourite equity books. It was nominated for a Forest of Reading award. There are tons of metaphors being used in the book. A great book to teach during an Inferencing unit.
February 6, 2017
"Even though Nan-ma's blind, she sees things others do not."
And so begins this book whose message to be proud of one's culture and nationality shines through. Phoebe has a good relationship with her grandmother who is blind. On weekends she is her neighborhood guide. As a mother, I liked that this story included a grandma and her wisdom. When Phoebe has to explain why the boys from school yelled out, "Hey, French Toast!" to her, she is embarrassed because she knows it's because of the color of her skin.
Since her grandmother has never known the colors of skin, she asks Phoebe what color her skin is. So Phoebe describes it like tea after milk is added. And so the story continues. With Nan-ma's gentle prodding, Phoebe gets to talk and think about her parents. She explores in her mind what she loves about them, her childhood, her favorite foods and her mixed nationality.
Living in Quebec, we are very familiar with the French-Canadian culture and mixed marriages among the very diverse ethnic groups that live here. My son and I enjoyed this story and we liked its message. It's a book that should resonate well with children living in Quebec and perfect to introduce others to a culture that embraces mixed marriages. Children need to feel proud of who they are and where they come from. Using food to bring out the beautiful qualities of a culture works well. My son and I were getting hungry reading this book!
The illustrations use earth-tone colors and are soft. They are a mix of digital media and acrylic. What this means is that they are a mix of real-life photos with the drawings. So, the faces of the characters, for example, are actual real photos but blended in with the drawings. My son noticed it right from the first page and told me he is not fond of this technique. I had to look more closely. In the end, we agreed that the way the illustrator blended the two worked well and also the way he highlighted the food and brought it out in the illustrations was unique.
This book would make a great addition to a home or school library. It is an excellent way to introduce new cultures and to open the discussion of how to embrace who we are.
And so begins this book whose message to be proud of one's culture and nationality shines through. Phoebe has a good relationship with her grandmother who is blind. On weekends she is her neighborhood guide. As a mother, I liked that this story included a grandma and her wisdom. When Phoebe has to explain why the boys from school yelled out, "Hey, French Toast!" to her, she is embarrassed because she knows it's because of the color of her skin.
Since her grandmother has never known the colors of skin, she asks Phoebe what color her skin is. So Phoebe describes it like tea after milk is added. And so the story continues. With Nan-ma's gentle prodding, Phoebe gets to talk and think about her parents. She explores in her mind what she loves about them, her childhood, her favorite foods and her mixed nationality.
Living in Quebec, we are very familiar with the French-Canadian culture and mixed marriages among the very diverse ethnic groups that live here. My son and I enjoyed this story and we liked its message. It's a book that should resonate well with children living in Quebec and perfect to introduce others to a culture that embraces mixed marriages. Children need to feel proud of who they are and where they come from. Using food to bring out the beautiful qualities of a culture works well. My son and I were getting hungry reading this book!
The illustrations use earth-tone colors and are soft. They are a mix of digital media and acrylic. What this means is that they are a mix of real-life photos with the drawings. So, the faces of the characters, for example, are actual real photos but blended in with the drawings. My son noticed it right from the first page and told me he is not fond of this technique. I had to look more closely. In the end, we agreed that the way the illustrator blended the two worked well and also the way he highlighted the food and brought it out in the illustrations was unique.
This book would make a great addition to a home or school library. It is an excellent way to introduce new cultures and to open the discussion of how to embrace who we are.
September 26, 2016
Digital media and acrylic illustrations highlight the story of a girl who feels as though her cultural identity makes her quite different from others. Phoebe, who is half Jamaican and half French, dislikes being called French Toast by her classmates since it seems to point out how her skin color is different from theirs. The elderly Nan-ma who is blind enjoys walking through the neighborhood with the young girl. When the woman asks her to explain why the others call Phoebe by the nickname, she tries to explain to Nan-ma the colors of the skins of humans--"stirred peach yogurt" (unpaged) in the case of her mother, "warm banana bread" (unpaged) in the case of her father, and "maple syrup" (unpaged) in the case of the old woman. After their conversation, she is proud to claim her nickname and identity as well as celebrating the many cultures that make up her heritage. I have mixed feelings about this picture book since I like how she and Nan-ma turn something probably not intended as a compliment into something good, and I also like the resilience she develops from spending time with the kind-hearted elderly woman. It might require a bit of explanation for young readers, but it is also likely to offer a chance to begin a discussion about the many different colors of skin in our world as well as exploring students' own cultural identities.
February 13, 2017
A young girl describes skin colors to her blind grandmother by using foods. Sweet book that encourages young ones to know themselves and be proud of who they are.
Good for preschool or older kid storytimes.
Good for preschool or older kid storytimes.
December 21, 2016
A good book that can be used to approach the topic of bullying, to your little ones. Any child who is made to feel different will identify with this book, which positively highlights people from another race/culture.
I also liked that the main character uses food to describe colours or shades to her blind grandmother. It's very imaginative and descriptive.
The illustration (while some may find it beautiful), was just not my cup of tea.
I also liked that the main character uses food to describe colours or shades to her blind grandmother. It's very imaginative and descriptive.
The illustration (while some may find it beautiful), was just not my cup of tea.
February 2, 2017
A little brown girl describes skin colors to her grandmother,who is blind.
January 17, 2017
While I like the exploration of disability and understanding differences, I am wary of writers' decision fall back exclusively on food to describe skin tone--particularly of non-white people.
April 21, 2017
Gentle illustrations match the mood of the text that describes skin colors by comparing tones to food - comfort foods at that!
It seems at first that Gran-Ma doesn't know Phoebe, but at the end, they are shown seated together eating with Phoebe's parents.
It seems at first that Gran-Ma doesn't know Phoebe, but at the end, they are shown seated together eating with Phoebe's parents.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews