Brown: The Many Shades of Love

by Nancy Johnson James, Constance Moore (Illustrator)

Overview

From author Nancy Johnson James and illustrator Constance Moore, Brown: The Many Shades of Love is a picture book celebrating all the beautiful browns in one child’s colorful family.
 
Mama’s brown is chocolate, clear, dark, and sweet. Daddy’s brown is autumn leaf, or like a field of wheat. Granny’s brown is like honey, and Papa’s like caramel. In this loving and lovely ode to the color brown, a boy describes the many beautiful hues of his family, including his own—gingerbread.
 
“A timely book to combat stereotypes and encourage the celebration of skin colors of Black and brown people.” —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
 
“This book provides a view of skin tone that celebrates a multitude of hues while serving as a subtle, effective refutation of the idea that being family means looking the same.” —Publishers Weekly
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647003586
Publisher:	Abrams
Publication date:	09/22/2020
Series:	The Colors of My Life
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Nancy Johnson James is a writer and educator based in Oakland, California. She has an MFA in creative writing from St. Mary’s College of California. Her poetry has appeared in several print and online publications. Her desire is to create children’s literature that is inspiring and liberating. Her other books include Blue: The Many Ways I Feel, and Black: The Many Wonders of My World.

Editorial Reviews

09/07/2020

In easy-to-read rhymes, this #OwnVoices debut shares a palette of browns that a child sees in his relatives. Describing the varied skin tones of his immediate and extended family, the narrator speaks in an appreciative, age-appropriate tone (“My mama’s brown is chocolate./ It’s clear, dark, and sweet.// My daddy’s brown is an autumn leaf,/ like a field of wheat”). Each comparison is paired with a portrait done in a childlike style, seemingly rendered in kid-friendly mediums such as crayon and watercolor. Some figurative language (“fragrant”) brings in more senses, with varying effects. This book provides a view of skin tone that celebrates a multitude of hues while serving as a subtle, effective refutation of the idea that being family means looking the same. Ages 3–5. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Children will love hearing familiar words such as cinnamon, chocolate, gingerbread, and copper to describe the family. As many children engage in tough discussions pertaining to racial differences in the early grades, the inviting language in this work is sure to pique the interest of young readers."

Booklist

**STARRED REVIEW**
"A timely book to combat stereotypes and encourage the celebration of skin colors of Black and brown people."—Kirkus

"Children will love hearing familiar words such as cinnamon, chocolate, gingerbread, and copper to describe the family. As many children engage in tough discussions pertaining to racial differences in the early grades, the inviting language in this work is sure to pique the interest of young readers."
—Booklist

"This book provides a view of skin tone that celebrates a multitude of hues while serving as a subtle, effective refutation of the idea that being family means looking the same."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2020-06-30
A colorfully whimsical perspective on just how varied skin tones can be in a single Black family.

In this rhyming picture book, the protagonist describes the skin color of the whole family: mama, daddy, brother, sister, auntie, uncle, cousins, and grandparents. Some of these skin tones resemble copper, desert sand, and polished pine, and the narrator likens nearly half of the colors to flavorful foods such as chocolate, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Each double-page spread features two lines of simple verse on one side and a watercolor portrait of one of the family members on the other side, set against a white background. In most of the portraits, the relative looks straight out at readers, providing a direct visual address that invites readers to see and appreciate brown skin of many hues. “Auntie’s brown is desert sand, / Moving with the wind. // Uncle’s brown like coffee beans, / A dark and fragrant blend.” The last page of the story includes an illustrated list of all of the skin colors, and these swatches of color also appear on the cover and title page, surrounding a heart, which encourages appreciation of many shades of pigment, from brown to butterscotch. The variations in characters’ facial features also emphasize, like those in Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal’s Native American story Fry Bread (2019), that immediate family members can look quite different but still belong together. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-15-inch double-page spreads viewed at 50.2% of actual size.)

A timely book to combat stereotypes and encourage the celebration of skin colors of Black and brown people. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews