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This book describes different shades of skin color, hair texture, and eye color in African American children. The comparison of these are to everyday things people encounter like foods, plants, and rocks. The book does not have illustrations but photographs to capture the realness in the book. There are some words used in the book which could be high for an early reader. The book was recommended to me by the librarian in the elementary school I work.
I would defiantly recommend this book for early readers. The book is the equivalent to looking at a photo album with the added bonus of words. The pictures will be very interesting for children to look at and possibly do a picture walk first then read the book to the children to see if they found the same meaning as the author without the words. If they did not then discuss the meanings the children felt.
As a teacher I would use this book for many lessons. A great guided reading book because of the few words. Also, an extension activity for the children would be to create their own book based on their skin color, hair texture, and eye color. This could be a book created for the classroom to keep for the children to read throughout the school year. Even take it a step further and include the children’s families to help with the description to show and welcome diversity.
