Beautiful Blackbird (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner) (Hardcover)

~ (Author, Illustrator) "A long, long time ago, the birds of Africa were all colors of the rainbow . . . clean, clear colors from head to tail..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Storyteller Bryan's (What a Wonderful World) singular voice provides rhythm and sound effects throughout this musical adaptation of a Zambian tale. When gray Ringdove calls the other monotone birds together and asks, "Who of all is the most beautiful?" they all reply, "Blackbird." They then encircle Blackbird, dancing and singing, "Beak to beak, peck, peck, peck,/ Spread your wings, stretch your neck./ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!/ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!" At the birds' request, Blackbird agrees to paint black markings on them (with the blackening brew in his medicine gourd), but he warns Ringdove that it's not the color black that will make them beautiful. "Color on the outside is not what's on the inside..... Whatever I do/ I'll be me and you'll be you." The message about inner beauty and identity becomes somewhat diluted by the closing song, in which the birds triumphantly sing, "Our colors sport a brand-new look,/ A touch of black was all it took./ Oh beautiful black, uh-huh, uh-huh/ Black is beautiful, UH-HUH!" But if the ending creates a bit of confusion, Bryan's collages make up for it with their exhibition of colorful splendor and composition. Scenes of the rainbow of wings are outdone only by a lakeside view of their colors intricately "mirrored in the waters." And Bryan's lilting and magical language is infectious. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Because they haven't got a spot of black on their bodies, the colorful birds of Africa envy Blackbird. They extol his feathers that "gleam all colors in the sun" in their songs and dances. And although he assures them that "Color on the outside is not what's on the inside," he generously shares the blackening brew in his gourd. First he adds a necklace of midnight to Ringdove, then markings of black to every feathered creature large and small, causing them to finally sing, "Oh beautiful black, uh-huh, uh-huh/Black is beautiful, UH-HUH!" Adapted from an Ila tale from Zambia, this story delivers a somewhat contradictory message. Blackbird frequently affirms that it's what's inside that counts but his avian friends are certainly fixated on adding some black to their feathered finery. The story line is simple and the rhythmic chants of the flock frequently interspersed throughout the text add drama and a rapper's cadence. The cut-paper silhouettes are colorful but static, effectuating a stylized formality. The endpapers include an image of the scissors used to create the collages and reinforce the physical process behind the art. This unusual and little-known pourquoi tale may supplement larger collections and serves as a thoughtful and entertaining addition to units on self-esteem.
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1st edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689847319
• ISBN-13: 978-0689847318
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #579,960 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book for Everyone, April 23, 2004

By A Customer

The Reader from Texas could not be more wrong. This is so far from being a "racist" book that the criticism doesn't even make sense. This is an incredibly beautiful story that, emphatically, CANNOT be reduced to a "skin color" story --- it's a metaphor for any and every sort of difference, and how sharing what we have makes us all more beautiful. This is a very simple yet moving story, and to criticize it because the bird is "only admired for being black" is to miss the point. To quote C.S. Lewis in another context, someone so blind who could read this book as racist "could look all over the sky at high noon on a clear day and not see the sun." Ashley Bryan is a genius, a consummate story-teller --- I have seen him perform many, many times -- and I have never seen anyone better able to bring together, in complete joy, audiences of every color of the rainbow and every age. A beautiful, beautiful book!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Magic and Joy of Ashley Bryan, July 14, 2005

By	A. R. Trotter (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In his illustrations, Ashley Bryan has explored a wide range of media, and in Blackbird he uses paper collage to a magical effect that will no doubt inspire readers to many home craft projects. In addition to his prolific career as a children's book author and illustrator, Bryan is a long standing scholar of African American poetry and African folklore, an emeritus professor of Dartmouth College, and a well-regarded painter. He has also travelled the world as an oral storyteller, book in hand, introducing children world wide to a love for reading and the joy of hearing the story on the page. The message of Blackbird is that all living creatures are beautiful. Though different from one another, children (of all ages) should take pride in their individuality and unique beauty.

7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not authentic, June 24, 2005

By	David E. Byer "Admirer of Baila" (Rochester MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is described as an adaptation of a tale from Smith and Dale: The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia. (Now Zambia) The Bryan book is at best a loose adaptation of 'How the Ringdove came by its Ring', as set forth by Smith and Dale. The phrase "Black is Beautiful", appearing repeatedly in Beautiful Blackbird, is absent from the original tale. The only reference to 'beauty' is in the question and answer: "--who is the most beautiful? ----Blackbird is the only beautiful one." Then the birds want to be like blackbird. Ringdove petitions "Blackbird, transform me so that we may be alike." The next day Blackbird puts the ring around Ringdove's neck. All the birds want medicine. They agree that if Blackbird will only give them medicine to become black, he may do with them as he pleases. When the birds return the next day Blackbird places curses upon them. "All the birds I condemn because they begged for medicines, saying 'Let us be like blackbird.'; whereas in truth they do not at all resemble me, they do not act as I act nor eat as I eat. To be alike in the fashion of our bodies! No I refuse!"

The Ila are proud and independent people. The very name Baila means 'The Chosen'. The rest of us humans are Bantu bulyo 'merely people'. Their folklore does not require a theme such as "Black is Beautiful". Historically, the Baila did not associate 'black' and 'beautiful'. 'Black' was used metaphorically in a deprecating sense.

Blackbird's condemnation of the others was because they wanted to have the advantage and esteem brought about by his good looks without having his inward character. Had the author chosen to make this important point he could have remained true to the original. Instead, the folktale appears to have been used to advance the theme "Black is beautiful".