Colors of Me

April 15, 2011

Barnes' earnest, rather oblique text interrogating the use of colors as labels for people is at odds with its playful, naive collage art. 

The clunky opening line reads, "I'm just a kid coloring the world in the pictures I drew. I look in my crayon box to see which one I'd be...I wonder if kids are colors too," propelling readers into a lengthy rumination on whether elements of the natural world "see" a child as a color. "Am I a color to the sky? Am I a color in my dreams? Am I a color to the moon? Am I a color to the sea?" The ideological slant declares color an inadequate and limiting description or category for a human being. While a laudable message, it seems a rather abstract one for the intended child audience, though Nelson's accompanying, playful and, yes, colorful, collage illustrations seem much more in tune with young children's sensibilities. This title doesn't measure up to other more developmentally appropriate titles prompting discussion about race, ethnicity and diversity. Let's Talk about Race, by Julius Lester and illustrated by Karen Barbour (2005), and The Skin You Live in, by Michael Tyler and illustrated by David Lee Csicsko (2005), are just two of these.

The book has its heart in the right place, but its mind is too clearly focused on adult agendas and preoccupations. (Picture book. 5-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-A young artist is "coloring the world" and pondering "Which colors should I be? Which crayons should I choose?" The child further wonders, "What color am I to the sky?" and "Does the grass know it's green? Does the sky know it's blue?" Getting a little more philosophical, the young narrator asks, "If flowers had no color, would they smell as sweet?" The youngster finally comes to the conclusion that the whole world comes in many colors, and people do, too. While the rhyming text is weak at times, the colorful collage illustrations of cats, dolphins at play, or children stomping in puddles can be charming. Nelson has enhanced the book's appeal by adding crayon drawings done by youthful "contributing artists." This is a decent work overall that promotes creativity and acceptance of our differences, but it's still a supplemental purchase.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA

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