Coretta Scott King Honor Award. Black is...

This book was different poems that children have written about their skin color. The most important lesson to take away from this book is that, it is okay to be different. The color of your skin should not matter, everyone should be treated equal. It is sad to me that young African American children wrote these poems based on how they feel. No one, especially young children should feel this way, when they are no different that anyone else. Some poems aren't sad, but they are expressing that black is beautiful too, and that black power is freedom, and that life is good. ( )

I want this book in my classroom. The poetry is simple but empowering, especially for black people, and I think it's incredibly important as race is becoming a more contentious issue and viewpoints about race are becoming more polarized. Most of the poems touch on how beautiful black skin is and the pride these kids take in being black. ( )

If I could rate this book 6 stars, I would. Each poem started with the word "BLACK" in capital letters and bold. There was an introduction page explaining that back in the day, the word "black" was a fighting word. As you read this collection of poetry, each page describes the word "black" as beautiful, courageous, powerful, something to be very proud of. I loved this one. ( )

This book gave me hope and sometimes brought a tear to my eye. Poems about the African American culture and how they are comfortable in their own skin and have pride. All the poems are filled with emotions and also heartfelt. A poem states that it is good to be different and you are who you are. Very inspiring and eye opening. This book not only inspires African American people to reach for the stars, but it also inspires all other cultures and races. ( )