Being a multiracial family can sometimes be a little tricky. In our house it's obvious we have differences among us. We notice it and others notice it (sometimes more than I want them to). It's important to me that everyone feels like they belong so we are purposeful in making sure that there are a variety of items in our home to reflect the diversity that we are. Books are just one of those things. Working in the early childhood field has produced a large variety of books in our home so from time to time I like to share a book within our little library. This is one of our favorites that helps us reflect on the diversity in our house!
Shades of Black by Sandra L. Pinkney is 25 pages of pure uniqueness. In fact a re-occurring line in the book is, "I am black, I am Unique." One of the things we have been encountering over the past year have been the words black and white. Yes we've known those words before - they're colors for pity sakes but because of the teaching on Martin Luther King (which we are thankful for) and other topics like the civil war in our school my girls have learned that we are not just different colors we are either black or white, period. As a mom who tries to bring us together as a family these words separate us instantly and it becomes almost like damage control once the girls come home from school on days that these topics arise. That's why I love this book. It does focus on the shades of black but it re-opens us to that discussion of a variety of shades and not those two dividing words of black and white. Author Pinkney shares fabulous pictures of children who are like the golden brown of sugar, the velvety orange in a peach, and the midnight blue in a licorice stick. Hair is compared to blades of grass, corkscrew twists, soft like a cotton ball and stiff like lambs wool. With eyes like steaks of amber in a tigers eye one can't help but be unique! No matter what we are the book ends with the statement "Proud to be me."
Every time we read this book it sparks a discovery of our uniqueness from everyone no matter what your shade is. We've got our own peach pink, olive green, a hershey kiss and a golden pretzel! For us this book brings us together even after the defining colors have pulled us apart. The books is very inexpensive and can be found on amazon or Scholastic.
If you are a family like us with a variety of shades and have a great resource for bringing your crew together like this amazing book leave a comment and share with others!
Blessings,
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