their awareness of differences and to develop their - Southern Early ...

Table 1. More good books about physical aspects of diversity
Adoff, Arnold. (1973). Black is brown is tan. New York:
HarperCollins. Illustrations by Emily Arnold McCully. The
poetic imagery of this classic book expresses the daily life of a
mixed-race family: "This is the way it is for us, this is the way
we are" (p. 3). Adoff speaks directly to a young child's concrete
sensibilities... "i am white the milk is white i am not the color of
the milk" (p. 11).
Cisneros, Sandra. (1994). Hairs—Pelitos. New York:
Knopf. Illustrations by Terry Ybanez. Ybanez' eye-catching
illustrations employ large spaces of bold color in this simple
bilingual book written in Spanish and English. The text and
illustrations describe, from a young child's perspective, the
diverse texture, color (and even smell) of family members'
hair (Mama's hair "is the warm smell of bread before you
bake it"/"es el olor tibro a pan antes de hornearlo") (p. 7).
Davol, Marguerite. (1993).
Black, white, just right. New
York: Whitman. Illustrations
by Irene Trivas. In this upbeat
book, a child describes the different
appearances, habits,
preferences, and interests of
the members of her mixedrace
family, noting at the end of
each page that each is "just
right."
Fox, Mem. (1997). Whoever
you are. New York:
Harcourt, Brace. Illustrated
by Leslie Staub. Richly
colored, bold primitive-style oil
paintings depict children and
families from around the
world. Although the intense
hues of the illustrations vary
from page to page, the sky color is identical from picture to
picture and place to place. This book carries the theme of
how people are different yet basically the same, and reminds
readers that "joy is the same and love is the same, pain is the
same and blood is the same" (pp. 22-23).
Hooks, Bell. (1999). Happy to be nappy. New
York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion. Illustrated by Chris
Raschka. An ode to the versatility of nappy hair, Happy To Be
Nappy is filled with simple watercolor renderings of girls in
various shades of brown. The representations of hair are not
meant to be realistic, but the artistic style in which they are
created (strokes, squiggles, and curls of black over wet color
wash) is intriguing. With a little adult guidance, children can
try this experimental painting process. Raschka's hair strokes
bleed out into the wet paper, creating fuzzy, nappy, interesting
effects.
Hooks, Bell. (2004). Skin again. New York: Jump at the
Sun/Hyperion. Illustrated by Chris Raschka. In bold
cartoon illustrations, children of different colors are shown on
the "outside" and then explored on the "inside." The
message is that while skin is the wrapping, "if you want to
know who I am, you've got to come inside" (p. 4).
Kissinger, Katie. (1994). All the colors we are: The story
of how we get our skin color/Todos los colores de nuetra
piel. MN: Redleaf Press. Photographs by Werhner Krutein.
Simple explanations (in both English and Spanish) of the three
ways people get their skin color: From ancestors, the sun, and
melanin in the skin. While the full explanation is beyond the
grasp of most 3- to 5-year-olds, this book can help them begin
to form a rudimentary understanding of the origins of skin
color. Includes information for adults and developmentally
appropriate learning experiences to accompany the book.
Pinkney, Sandra. L.
(2000). Shades of black: A
celebration of our children.
New York: Scholastic. Photographs
by Myles C.
Pinkney. "I am Black. I am
unique" (p. 2). While all the
children pictured and
described in this book are
considered to be black,
they represent a very wide
spectrum of shades of brown
skin. Hair color, hair
texture, and eye color are
described in evocative and
challenging language such
as "the shimmering glow
of ebony in an onyx" (p. 22).
Subjects & Predicates Myles Pinkney's photography
showcases individual
children's spirits in uniquely beautiful and natural facial
expressions.
Pinkney, Sandra L. (2002). A rainbow all around me.
New York: Scholastic. Photography by Myles C. Pinkney.
With the exception of the repeated refrain
(“Colors are you. Colors are me.” [pp. 10, 18, 26]), the text of
this book describes the bright colors of the rainbow. Myles
Pinkney's compelling close-up photography, however,
celebrates a wide diversity of children of different ethnic
origins. The book closes with, "Colors colors they're in
everything I see. We are in the rainbow—you and me!" (p. 32).
Thomas, Pat. (2003). The skin I'm in: A first look
at racism. New York: Barrons Education Series.
Illustrated by Lesley Harker. Written by a counselor and
psychotherapist, this book is designed to spark and encourage
conversation—among families, children, and teachers—
about skin color and other observable racial differences.
Winter 2009 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 37, Number 1 27