A treasure trove of positivity, strength, and pride for anyone seeking to uplift and educate young people.įrom the January/February 2020Horn Book Magazine.

Details in the back matter increase the book’s value: there’s a playlist an explication of selected phrases (“Robe on Thurgood’s Back” “Dreams and Raisins”) several poems by Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar “A Timeline of Black Ethnonyms in America” (from Negro to black to Black) and a bibliography (for adults). It follows a child’s reflection on the meaning of being Black and is the inspiration for this bookmark designed by Holmes. Holmes’s illustrations use heavy lines and strong colors with soft touches of collage detail to represent everyday children as well as the iconic figures referenced in the text. Black Is a Rainbow Color, written by Angela Joy and illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is a moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy. 5 Inch (D) Weight: 1. The rhyming text uses familiar symbols and motifs (black-eyed peas, a cooking skillet “for bread to fry,” blues music) as well as allusions to specific examples of African American art, music, poetry, and literature (“Black are the birds in cages that sing”) to create a mosaic of a community and culture that survives and thrives. Black Is a Rainbow Color - by Angela Joy (Hardcover) 13.24When purchased online In Stock Add to cart About this item Specifications Dimensions (Overall): 9.8 Inches (H) x 10 Inch (W) x.

And the black of Black culture is rich indeed, as the succeeding pages show. A young girl sits on her stoop contemplating the colors of the rainbow, then notes, “But my color is black…and there’s no black in rainbows.” There is, however, black in a crayon box, black in nature (“a feather in snow”), and black in fun (“the bottoms of summertime feet”).

Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy