A review by chitownjr
The Blacker the Berry by Floyd Cooper, Joyce Carol Thomas
5.0
When I got this book from the library I really wondered what it was about. The photo realist image on the cover of the girl holding a basket of blackberries made me wonder how they were related to each other, and to poetry. I can’t say I was expecting much.
After reading the book, all became clear. The intention of the book is to show the different shades of blackness. Just like the berries described in the poems, there are different shades of black skin. To a white person like me, I don’t often consider the different shades of black skin even though I’m aware of the differences. Recently an African American friend of mine, Tony, who is very dark skinned, mentioned something about his wife being “high yeller”. It made me consider how Tony and his family see themselves and the differences between Tony and his wife.
This book makes this concept accessible to children. The poet has chosen to compare the different shades of black skin to the various kinds of berries: raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, etc. She also includes other poems about how black people are perceived amongst themselves. This book is designed to instill pride in black children; to make them aware of the variety among people with black skin. Most of the poems also evoke pride in one’s ancestry with phrases such as, “You remind me of my mother” and “My father’s side of the family.”
The book is a celebration of the black family, now and then, of the ties that bind, of pride in one’s heritage and pride in one’s self.
I think this book would make a lovely read aloud in a library. White children can see themselves in the poems about family and consider how they differ in skin tone while possibly becoming more aware of how black children see themselves (something white people in this country still need to consider even in this “post-racial” environment). All children can take pride in their heritage and the poems encourage those family ties regardless of race.
The images of the black people in the book show each one as a distinct individual surrounded by a loving family. The final image, two facing pages of black children’s faces, reinforces the idea of diversity among people of African American heritage. I really enjoyed this book and liked the poems enough to read the book through twice. I especially liked the first poem, “What Shade is Human?”
All in all the book was well worth reading and was eye opening even for a liberal like me.
After reading the book, all became clear. The intention of the book is to show the different shades of blackness. Just like the berries described in the poems, there are different shades of black skin. To a white person like me, I don’t often consider the different shades of black skin even though I’m aware of the differences. Recently an African American friend of mine, Tony, who is very dark skinned, mentioned something about his wife being “high yeller”. It made me consider how Tony and his family see themselves and the differences between Tony and his wife.
This book makes this concept accessible to children. The poet has chosen to compare the different shades of black skin to the various kinds of berries: raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, etc. She also includes other poems about how black people are perceived amongst themselves. This book is designed to instill pride in black children; to make them aware of the variety among people with black skin. Most of the poems also evoke pride in one’s ancestry with phrases such as, “You remind me of my mother” and “My father’s side of the family.”
The book is a celebration of the black family, now and then, of the ties that bind, of pride in one’s heritage and pride in one’s self.
I think this book would make a lovely read aloud in a library. White children can see themselves in the poems about family and consider how they differ in skin tone while possibly becoming more aware of how black children see themselves (something white people in this country still need to consider even in this “post-racial” environment). All children can take pride in their heritage and the poems encourage those family ties regardless of race.
The images of the black people in the book show each one as a distinct individual surrounded by a loving family. The final image, two facing pages of black children’s faces, reinforces the idea of diversity among people of African American heritage. I really enjoyed this book and liked the poems enough to read the book through twice. I especially liked the first poem, “What Shade is Human?”
All in all the book was well worth reading and was eye opening even for a liberal like me.