Great Books That Celebrate the Color Black

4 Stories That Teach African-American Children to Love Their Skin

Nov 10, 2009

African-American children come in many beautiful colors. Here are some great children's books that showcase the various shades of black.

All children come in different colors, shapes, and sizes. But African-American children especially come in many different hues. The following books help teach African-American children that their black skin color is unique, and most of all beautiful.

Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney is filled with pictures of beautiful African-American children and delicious foods! The author uses simple language, and everyday identifiable pictures, to make a very strong point about loving one's color and being proud of the way you look.

Siblings in the same family can be different shades of black, but that doesn't matter. This book clearly illustrates that we can find beauty in everything we see, especially the beautiful colors that make up all of the amazing children in this world.

The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler introduces kids to a universal subject in a very positive way. We all have skin! They may be different colors, but we are all made up of the same things inside. The sharp, rhythmic writing is very uplifting.

Some memorable lines are, "It's whatever you do skin, be happy it's you skin. You can't live without out – I'm glad it's me too skin! And look at the shades it comes in – the shades of your colorful skin! So whenever you look at your beautiful skin, from your wiggling toes to your giggling grin... Think how lucky you are that the skin you live in, so beautifully holds the "You" who's within."

Michael Tyler's book teaches all children about diversity and helps them realize that there are countless things about human beings that unite rather than divide us.

The Colors of Us by Karen Katz celebrates skin colors and cultures. Lena, 7, learns about different colors from her mother, an artist. On a walk through her diverse neighborhood, Lena is introduced to many "colorful" people in her life. There are her friends at the playground who are many different shades of brown, the pizza parlor owner, and her Aunt Kathy.

This book shows the commonalities in neighbors and family members and teaches children about the diversity in their daily lives. In the end, Lena draws a beautiful picture of the "colors of us" which consists of her close-knit community of friends and family who all have great personalities and beautiful shades of colors.

Black All Around! by Patricia Hubbell is a wonderful book about the color black. It's not often that children's books show the many different and beautiful ways that the color black is represented in daily life. But this beautifully written and illustrated book does just that.

From an early age, children are often taught that white is good and black is bad. This book dispels those ideas by having the young girl take notice of all the beautiful things that are black all around her. She finds beauty in the footprints left in the ground after a snowstorm, her Mama's cheek, and Daddy's arm. This book celebrates the color black and teaches African-American children to embrace this beautiful and often overlooked color.

While these books mainly emphasize teaching African-American children to love their skin, they can and should be read by all races and age groups. As parents read these books to their children, it can help them grow more accepting of different colors, races, and religions. In turn, parents can teach their children to embrace all human beings just as they are.

The copyright of the article Great Books That Celebrate the Color Black in Children’s Books is owned by Denise Henry. Permission to republish Great Books That Celebrate the Color Black in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.