The Colors of Us

by Karen Katz (Author) Karen Katz (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

A positive and affirming look at skin color, from an artist's perspective.

Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.

Through the eyes of a little girl who begins to see her familiar world in a new way, this book celebrates the differences and similarities that connect all people.

Karen Katz created this book for her daughter, Lena, whom she and her husband adopted from Guatemala six years ago.

Select format:
Paperback
$8.99

Find books about:

None

Bold illustrations celebrate diversity with a child's open-hearted sensibility and a mother's love.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2 Lena's mother is an artist, so she knows whereof she speaks when she insists that there are many different shades of brown. The two take a walk through their neighborhood by way of illustration, and the friends and relatives they meet along the way aptly reinforce Mom's contention. Their skin colors are compared to honey, peanut butter, pizza crust, ginger, peaches, chocolate, and more, conjuring up delicious and beautiful comparisons for every tint. Katz's pencil-and-gouache pictures joyously convey the range of human pigmentation. Positive and useful. Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY

Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Karen Katz

Karen Katz has written and illustrated many books for children, including Can You Say Peace, My First Ramadan, Counting Kisses and Where is Baby's Belly Button. Long inspired by folk art from around the world, she was inspired to write her first book, Over the Moon, when she and her husband adopted their daughter from Guatemala, and she wanted to tell the story of welcoming Lena into their lives. Katz loves to paint and experiment with texture, color, collage and pattern. Besides an author and illustrator, she has been a costume designer, quilt maker, fabric artist and graphic designer. Katz and her family divide their time between New York City and Saugerties, New York.

Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780805071634
Lexile Measure
570
Guided Reading Level
K
Publisher
Henry Holt & Company
Publication date
October 01, 2002
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039000 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | General
Library of Congress categories
Racially mixed people

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!