Brown Is Warm, Black Is Bright

by Sarah L. Thomson, Keith Mallett (Illustrator)

Overview

A long overdue book that lyrically celebrates and teaches positive associations with two of the most important colors on Earth, black and brown.
 

Have you ever paused to savor the power and beauty of brown and black? Brown is strong as a tree and sweet as honey in tea; black is the hopeful promise of a seed and the grace of a bird in flight... and the quiet space where dreams begin.

In this groundbreaking picture book, poetic text and lush imagery celebrates two essential colors that capture all the richness and depth life, love, and the natural world have to offer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316424196
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/30/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	203,415
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sarah L. Thomson has written many award-winning fiction and nonfiction picture books and novels for young readers, including Wombat Underground: A Wildfire Survival Story, illustrated by Charles Santoso. The text for Brown is Warm, Black is Bright began when Sarah noticed how many picture books celebrating color fail to mention brown and black—two of the loveliest and most prevalent colors in the world. Sarah lives in Portland, Maine, and her website is www.sarahlthomson.com. 
 
Keith Mallett is an acclaimed painter, etcher, and ceramic artist who has illustrated numerous children’s books, including When Langston Dances by Kaija Langley, Sing a Song by Kelly Starling Lyons, and Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! by Andrea J. Loney. His work has been exhibited around the world and is in corporate and private collections, and have appeared in magazines, films, and television shows. He lives in San Diego, California, and he invites you to visit his website, www.keithmallett.com.
 

Editorial Reviews

The verses are beautifully written…. [the] illustrations [are] soft, rich, and warm, evoking feelings of safety and calm…. Celebrates the everyday joy of Black children and their families.”—Kirkus

“The book makes for a beautiful read-aloud…. File this under Black joy, childhood, autumn reveries, or pair with other celebrations of Black strength and beauty, such as Tami Charles’s All Because You Matter and Useni Eugene Perkins’s Hey Black Child.”—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2022

PreS-Gr 1—Employing full-color figurative digital paintings and structured verse, this book is a joyous celebration of the bucolic life of an Black child and her father. Thomson's succinct verses are split in half between spreads, alternating "Brown is" and "Black is" on the right side of the spread, and with the turn of the page, the rest of the verse appears on the left side of the next spread. These take the form of alliterative, poetic, sometimes onomatopoeic descriptions of hope. For example, the book opens with a Black girl in boots jumping into a pile of fallen leaves in front of a suburban house; the text, "Brown is crisp" appears in the lower right corner. The following spread has her next words, "crunch and crackle,/ catch me as I fall." The paintings are largely of pastoral settings, such as fallen leaves, puddles, a bird flying in the sky, and a forest; there are a few pages of the child and her father, with two spreads that serve as a brief history lesson of African American struggles and triumphs. The book makes for a beautiful read-aloud for a group setting with its detailed full-color vibrant imagery and for individual sharing. VERDICT File this under Black joy, childhood, autumn reveries, or pair with other celebrations of Black strength and beauty, such as Tami Charles's All Because You Matter and Useni Eugene Perkins's Hey Black Child.—Vi Ha

School Library Journal

2022-05-11
A young brown-skinned child happily goes about their day, accompanied by a nurturing adult.

The child, who has an afro-puff ponytail framed by cornrow braids, plays in piles of leaves and water puddles, watches a bird soar in the sky, drinks tea with honey while reading about the actions of African American activists during the civil rights movement, and plays a stringed instrument before being tucked into bed with a kiss by their caregiver. Both the child and caregiver are Black. Simple text complements the illustrations and links the colors brown and black to both the actions depicted and the natural world: “Brown is crisp // …crunch and crackle, / catch me as I fall”; “Black is flight… // inky wings / on wet watercolor clouds.” The verses are beautifully written (“Black is bright… // tender darkness / glowing between stars”; “Black is hope… // floating far / a flower hidden deep”). However, younger readers may need assistance teasing out the connection between the often complex text and the more accessible images. Illustrations, drawn and painted digitally, are soft, rich, and warm, evoking feelings of safety and calm. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A solid contribution that celebrates the everyday joy of Black children and their families. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews