A Notes from the Windowsill annotated bibliography by Wendy E. Betts. Copyright 2006-2010
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Last Updated 06/08/10
black is brown is tan by Arnold Adoff. Illustrated by Emily
Arnold McCully. HarperCollins, 2002 (0-06-028776-4) $15.95;
HarperTrophy, 2004 (0-06-443644-6) $5.99 pb
Originally published in 1973, this landmark lyrical poem about an
interracial family has been updated with glowing and tender new
watercolors by the original illustrator, based on the author's'
family. Warmth, humor and love live in each line as Adoff tells
readers, "this is the way it is for us/this is the way we are." (3 &
up)
In My Heart written and illustrated by Molly Bang. Little,
Brown, 2006 (0-316-79617-4) $15.99
This exuberant story of parental love uses vivid images to show that
when a mom is away from her child, he is still there in her
heart--cozily tucked away inside her chest! As she goes to her job as
a
vet, her young son eats his breakfast and changes his clothes in
that ample heart-shaped space. Bang's illustrations play merrily with
sizes, proportions and especially with decorated initials, showing the
mom,
dad, child and family cat all
gloomily separated by a giant W that beings the sentence, "When we're
apart I miss you"; at the end of the book, descriptions of bedtime
routines
start with a toothpaste A and a watery L. How the family was formed is
never menioned in this story, but the dark-skinned child with two
blonde,
Anglo parents clearly did not arrive by the standard route;
the pictures showing the child snuggled inside the mother's
heart have an implicit message that you can carry someone in your
heart without ever having carried them in your body. (3-6)
Black, White, Just Right by Marguerite W. Davol. Illustrated
by Irene Trivas. Albert Whitman, 1993 (0-8075-0785-7) $15.95
In lilting, syncopated verse, a little girl describes and contrasts
the characteristics and personalities of her black mother, her white father,
and herself--who's a bit like her mom, a bit like her dad, and a lot just
her own person. The playful, positive text deserves better
illustrations: although the colorful spreads of everyday family life
are quite attractive, others seem to aim for a rainbow-filled "gooviness" that
just seems outdated and stodgy. Still, an appealing book. (3-8)
Oscar's Half Birthday written and illustrated by Bob Graham.
Candlewick, 2005 (0-7636-2699-6) $16.99
Graham continues his series of everyday stories that celebrate
diversity and real family values. In this book,
a city family--a young white dad and black mom, both wearing braids,
and their little girl and baby--travel to the closest
"country" they can manage, the park. Down a graffiti-covered
elevator, under a graffiti-covered bridge they travel, listening to
seagulls, a train going by and "the drone of distant traffic." At the
park, everyone is enchanted by the six-month-old Oscar, and soon
every picnicer in the park is singing "Happy Bithday to You."
Graham's light pen & ink and watercolor pictures give gentle charm to
the characters and complement the comfortably happy mood. (3-6)
All the Colors of the Earth written and illustrated by Sheila
Hamanaka. Morrow, 1994 (0-688-11131-9) $15.00; Mulberry, 1999
(0-688-17062-5) $4.95 pb
A richly loving and exuberantly joyous celebration, All the Colors
of
the Earth reveals the beauty and magic to be found in every child.
A
lyrical, evocative text joins perfectly with imaginative
illustrations, creating wondrous, strong, and beautiful visual
metaphors for the many colors of human skin. For love, as it reminds
us, "comes in cinnamon, walnut, and wheat, love is amber and ivory and
ginger and sweet." Each illustration is uniquely appealing: light
glows in the faces of an interracial couple tenderly holding their
baby, two little girls leap into the air as they run, vibrant with
life and freedom. Unlike some well-meaning but ponderous stories, the
simplicity and vigor of both text and pictures make this book's
message seem as natural as sunshine. * (4-8)
Nina Bonita by Ana Maria Machado. Illustrated by Rosana Fara.
Kane/Miller, 1996 (0-916291-63-4) $9.95
Nina Bonita is a beautiful little Brazilian girl, with eyes "like two shiny black olives" and skin as dark and glossy as "a panther in the rain." Her neighbor, a white rabbit with pink ears, thinks that Nina Bonita is the loveliest person he's ever seen and longs to have a daughter just like her--but when he asks Nina for the secret that makes her skin so dark and pretty, Nina makes a few wild guesses, with some pretty silly results for the rabbit, who tries spilling ink on himself, drinking coffee, and eating blackberries until he can barely move. Finally Nina's mother decides to set things straight, telling the rabbit that Nina looks just like her grandmother. With that in mind, the white rabbit finds a lovely black rabbit to marry and soon has a delightful family of every color and shade.
Originally published in Brazil, Nina Bonita brings a carefree
simplicity to the subjects of skin color and multi-racial families
that few American books can match. It may in fact seem overly
simplistic to an American audience, but I found it rather relaxing to
see the volatile issues treated so matter-of-factly, like a glimpse of
an ideal world. The illustrations amply justify the rabbit's
viewpoint, showing an exquisitely beautiful girl with a cloud of smoky
hair, whose dark skin glows richly amid the pastel background showing
life in Brazil.
Violet by Tania Duprey Stehlik. Illustrated by Vanja Buleta Javanovic. Second Story Press, 2009 (978-1897187-60-9) $14.95
I couldn't get a cover illustration for Violet, but here's a book trailer that gives a sense of the illustrations. It's a very eye-catching book, with a spiky haired, elongated heroine and some seriously surreal backgrounds; the overall effect is sometimes childlike, sometimes pretty, and occasionally even a bit creepy in a rather Coraline-esque way. It sorts of makes sense when you realize that Violet is set in an alternate world, one in which people are red and blue and yellow--and in Violet's case, violet.
A simple story, Violet is about Violet's first day at a new school. She's pretty nervous about fitting in, but everything goes fine. Then when her dad comes to pick her up, a girl from her class is puzzled: "Your dad is BLUE??!" Violet's never thought about it before, but now she wonders. "Mom was red. Dad was blue. So, why wasn't she red or blue? Come to think of it, all her red friends had red parents. Her yellow friends had yellow parents. Her blue friends had blue parents. So why was she purple?"
When she gets home, Violet's mom shows her how mixing blue and red makes "a lovely purply-violet" and tells her that "people come in a whole rainbow of beautiful colors." (Only the colorful hands of the adults are shown, another piece of the overall offbeat look of the book.) And the next day, when a boy is puzzled by her red mom, she says proudly, "My mom is red, my dad is blue, and I... am Violet!"
I'm torn between thinking that Violet looks awesome, and that
it's great to see a messagey sort of book with such unusual and
interesting illustrations, and thinking that it's kind of an odd fit
with the text, which is so matter of fact. In a way, of the two of
them the book trailer is more interesting than the actual
book. Which is not to say that a straightforward book on this subject
isn't welcome, especially one that is not heavily didactic; I just
wonder if the kind of kids who appreciate a straightforward story
might also prefer more straightforward illustrations. Like Violet, I
feel a little mixed.. but overall, I like the book enough to hope it
finds its audience. (4-10)
Hello, Lulu written and illustrated by Caroline Uff. Walker,
1999 (0-8027-8712-6); (0-8027-892805) $5.95 board
Toddlers love this short and sweet book about Lulu, her family, her
pets and her favorite snacks. Pastel crayon illustrations give
brightly colored backgrounds to the pages, and softness and warmth to
the varying skin tones of Lulu's diverse family. (1-3)
"More More More," Said the Baby written and illustrated by Vera
B.
Williams. Greenwillow, 1990 (0-688-09173-3); 1996 (0-688-14736-4)
$4.95 pb; 1997 (0-688-15634-7) $6.95
Now available in board book format: This Caldecott Honor winner is a
love of a book, a joyous, multiracial celebration of babies and their
grownups. Three little babies are exuberantly loved by their
relatives, who "catch them up and bring them up close" to swing them
around, kiss their eyes and nibble their toes. William's
illustrations capture the awkward, loveable grace of toddlers and the
energetic adoration they inspire, in bright, bold paintings that have
the vigor and spontaneity of fingerpaints; vivid multicolored frames
and rainbow lettering add even more color and life to the pictures.
But the text is even better, a rhythmic, colloquial lyric that is just
the right combination of repetition and freshness. * (2-6)
Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It by Sundee T. Frazier
Yearling, 2007 (978-0440-42206-8) $6.50 pb
Brendan Buckley, the child of a black father and a white mother, is an intensely curious, scientifically-minded ten-year-old boy, trying to answer two complicated questions. Why doesn't he know his mother's father? And why are white people sometimes mean to black people?
When he accidentally runs into his grandfather Ed at a minerals exhibit, Brendan discovers they have a lot in common. And he feels compelled to try to solve the mystery of his grandfather's absence from his life... but he may not like the answer he gets.
Frazier takes what I guess could be called a post-modern approach to
biracial identity here, and expresses it with sincerity and
conviction. Although Brendan's life is not free of racism, he's not
caught up in a black identity or a white identity, but open to all
aspects of himself. His energy, commitment and intelligence make him a
very likable character and I was moved to tears by his final,
triumphant self-acceptance. (9 & up)
Nothing Wrong with a Three-Legged Dog by Graham McNamee.
Delacorte, 2000 (0-385-32755-2)
Keath, known as "Whitey" and "Vanilla" because he's the only white kid
in his class, and his best friend Lynda, called "Zebra" because she's
half white and half black, share their love for dogs while trying to
cope with the kids who hate them for being different. Sweet, funny
and real. (8-12)
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. Greenwillow, 2001
(0-688-18019-1) $15.95
A melting-pot of genes have done well by T.J. Jones: he's smart, good-looking and athletic. But though he loves sports, his school's debasing attitude towards them is enough to keep him away from anything organized: "they pray before games and cajole you to play out of obligation, and fans scream obscenities at one another from the stands." The symbol of it all, "the Shroud of Turin for Cutter High athletes," is the letter jacket, and T.J. prides himself on not having earned one. But when a teacher asks him to put together a swim team from scratch, T.J. realizes that this could be a chance to put letter jackets on the backs of some very unexpected students: "a group of real outsiders, a group Cutter High School has offered very little to." For one of the few "people 'of color' in a part of the country where Mark Fuhrman has his own radio talk show," the chance to help other outsiders is not to be missed, no matter how strenuous--or dangerous--the opposition.
In many ways, this is the mixture as before from Crutcher; the sharp, cocky narrative voice and give-'em-hell progressive attitudes are pretty familiar. Unfortunately, so is a tendency to pile on the drama. It starts to seem that everybody in the book has been through some kind of wringer, each worse than the last; horror piles upon horror until it's hard to care much anymore. And this is at the expense of the basic story, which is a damn good story and deserves more attention. I would hate to accuse a terrific writer like Crutcher of pandering, but I miss his focus on the internal drama of sports and relationships, which seem to be getting lost in violent movie-of-the-week subplots.
Incidentally, I have no trouble at all accusing the designers of the book of pandering: the cover, showing a distinctly white boy running in an athletic jacket, could not be less reflective of what the book is actually about if it showed two little girls having a tea-party.
Trevor's Story by Bethany Kandel. Photographed by Carol
Halebian. Lerner, 1997 (0-8225-2583-6)
An honest and likeable, albeit occasionally implausible, narrative
voice offers a firsthand look at what it's like to grow up biracial.
Trevor, whose ancestors include slaves on one side and grandparents
who were married under a picture of Hitler on the other, certainly has
an interesting story to tell, and he voices his feelings
straightforwardly: "The hard thing about being biracial is that you
may get teased and you may be asked to choose between being black and
being white. I don't want to choose." Well designed photographs of
Trevor with his family emphasize the ways they are similar to all
families, as well as the ways they are unique. (8-12)
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