Summer Reading
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Release date: July 1, 2008 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Series: Ala Notable Children's Books. Middle Readers
We are color struck The way an artist strikes His canvas with his brush of many hues
Look closely at these mirrors these palettes of skin Each color is rich in its own right
Black is dazzling and distinctive, like toasted wheat berry bread; snowberries in the fall; rich, red cranberries; and the bronzed last leaves of summer. In this lyrical and luminous collection, Coretta Scott King honorees Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper celebrate these many shades of black beautifully.
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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
Award-winning author of more than 30 books and several plays, including the acclaimed musical "Abyssinia", internationally-renowned and best-selling African-American writer Joyce Carol Thomas was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma and now resides in Berkeley, California. A professor and teacher for over twenty years at some of the nation's most prestigious colleges, including the University of Tennessee and Purdue University, she received her Master of Arts degree from Stanford University. Joyce is a highly sought-after motivational speaker who delivers empowering speaking presentations that engage the heart, mind, and soul. In addition to speaking at colleges and universities in the United States, she has presented lectures, seminars, and workshops on creative writing and cultural studies in Nigeria, Haiti, Ecuador, Australia, Samoa, and the Mariana Islands.
Fraternities, students, administrators, alumni, and advisors schedule appearances by this eloquent and articulate Black woman when they want to ignite their campus student body and community groups about the joys of learning. How do you honor and respect your heritage while acknowledging people of all races, cultures, and backgrounds? Want proven ways to garner your best grades? Need help choosing your campus friends wisely? Ask Joyce! She fills all of her engagements with a uniquely warm, personal, and insightful sense of learning, laughter, and love.
Joyce's numerous honors and awards include the National Book Award, the American Book Award, the New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year Award, Outstanding Woman of the 20th Century Award, three Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, the Center for Poets and Writers' Poet Laureate Award, Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice, the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, Book of the Month Club Selection, and many more.
I found this book while searching for more children's books with African-American protagonists to include in my classroom library and immediately bought myself a copy. However, the book is so good that I didn't keep it long and had to pass it along to my best friend and her husband who, as an interracial couple, have biracial children. They loved seeing their kids represented within the pages and given a voice. The small details in each poem--from the child with red hair to the little girl who still loves her "one drop" despite people thinking she's not black enough--provide a window into the diversity of the African-American community while creating a sense of inclusion. "The Blacker the Berry" gives voice to the experience of so many children and affirms the value and preciousness of the reader through each of the poems. Floyd Cooper's illustrations are incredible and provide an added weight to each poem. The children come alive and off the page.
I love, love, love this book. As I read these evocative poems, I got a lump in my throat; don't we all want the children around us to feel this great about themselves? The words are perfect, and the illustrations--well, I think they should win an award, yes, still, two years after publication. The tie-ins of self-image, self-esteem and nature are just impeccable.
The Blacker the Berry is a beautiful picture/poetry book for children (ages 5-14). This book celebrates every shade of beautiful black from "Raspberry Black" to "Golden Goodness" and every wonderful skin tone in between. The author uses such beautiful and rich language to give pride, celebration and unity of all children, in particular African American children, no matter the shade of their skin. The poetry and the illustrations work together to create a world full of laughter, happiness and strength. This book is also an Illustrator Coretta Scott King Award winner and is well deserving for the celebratory illustrations. This should be a book that is present in every household with children and every classroom!
This book is a collection of deep heartfelt poems all relating to race and the writers feelings about their individual race. While it's a children's book, the issues presented in this book are mature and probably geared toward older audiences like 4th or 5th graders or higher. The pictures in the book have vivid colors and the feelings are projected strongly through the illustrations. The poems themselves are all different accounts of people's struggles and triumphs with their ethnicities. This book would be a good account to share with a classroom on a lesson about differences and equality among a diverse population. In some of the pictures the characters feelings are so easily projected that the reader can almost feel what the character was feeling and that is what I liked most about the book. It contained a lot of pathos and emotional appeal is guaranteed to be felt by the reader of any age
The Blacker the Berry the Sweeter the Juice is a magnificent collection of poems about all the different shades of skin someone of color can be. Joyce Carol Thomas has an awe-inspiring way with words. When you read this book, you can hear Thomas's tone and rhythm and it add even more beauty to the experience that this book captures. This book would be of great use to any teacher completing a unit in poetry because not only is it outstanding poetry, it adds a multicultural frame of reference to the classroom as well. The illustrations by Floyd Cooper are breathtaking and will take you to a warm place with a cool breeze, leaving you with the most peaceful feeling. A copy of this book should be put in every classroom! No matter what color, any child can take away a powerful lesson from this book. Have pride in who you are and always love yourself and your roots!
The Blacker The Berry is a book composed of poems describing the different shades of black a black person can be. Each poem makes a reference to a different kind of berry, and I think it is very interesting how it is done. This book is a book that is really hard to describe; everyone should just see the greatness for themselves. The illustrations are beautiful, they are so real looking like a photo taken with a camera. I think this book could help with self-esteem issues. The book is great and definitely deserving of its award.
This was a fun book to read, not just because of the simple but educational poetry, but also because the artwork is engaging. It must have taken Cooper a long time to paint them because of their photo-realistic quality. It's also a great book for young African American children to read in order to see the differences in their culture and why some of their own kin may look completely different than they do. I especially liked the line where a girl claims to be "cranberry red" from her father's Irish heritage. I recommend it to learning readers from ages 3 - 8.
