The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas
Pub. Date: July 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardcover, 32pp
Age Range: 4 to 8
ISBN: 0060253754
I was so moved by the poems in this book. I think it would be so great to use this book at the beginning of the year to talk about differences in the classroom and to help students start the year off in a good way. By demonstrating to all students that beauty comes in many different shades we can influence our students for years to come. My favorite poem from the book was "The Blacker the Berry", so beautiful!
This is a collection of poems that celebrates the uniqueness of the African American heritage through the many colors found in skin tone. Each poem uses descriptions of berries to create a beautiful picture of our many human shades.
Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
"What shade is human?" Thomas's evocative, colorful poetry seeks to answer that question with this celebration of the diversity of African-American children across the spectrum. From "Raspberry Black" to "Golden Goodness," Cooper's soft and realistic illustrations almost leap from the page, incorporating natural images from the text in their depiction of a gallery of beautiful, self-confident children. Difficult intraracial social issues related to skin color are handled with truth and respect. For instance, in the poem "Snowberries," a fair-skinned child speaks back to those who would question her identity: "The words cut deep down / Beyond the bone / Beneath my snowy skin / Deep down where no one can see / I bleed the ‘one drop of blood' / That makes Black me." On the page opposite, an auburn-haired girl smiles at the reader, eyes twinkling. An essential picture book that helps young children understand and appreciate differences in skin color. As the epigraph states so truthfully, "Colors, without black, / couldn't sparkle quite so bright." (Picture book/poetry. 5-10)
From Booklist
Black comes in all shades from dark to light, and each is rich and beautiful in this collection of simple, joyful poems and glowing portraits that show African American diversity and connections. In the title poem, a smiling girl says, “Because I am dark, the moon and stars shine brighter.” Other pages have fun with terms, such as skin deep and night shade. A grandma turns “Coffee will make you black” from a warning into something great. A boy is proud to be raspberry black as he reads his great-great-grandmother’s journal about her love for her Seminole Indian husband. A girl says she is “cranberry red” from her father’s Irish ancestry. In the final, joyful double-page spread, the kids celebrate their individual identities and laugh together. Many families will want to talk about this and their own family roots: “We count who we are / And add to all who came before us.” Preschool-Grade 2. --Hazel Rochman
Library Uses
Of course this book would be perfect for February and Black History Month, but it could also be used in many other ways. The poems could be learned and then performed during poetry lessons. As a classmate has suggested the book could be enjoyed with a snack of berries and yogurt. We could grow berries in the school garden or have students bring in berries from home to paint, discuss and compare to their own skin.
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