Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Saunders
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Smart verse and bright art assert the sanctity of Blackness.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
When BLACK IS A RAINBOW COLOR begins, a young girl broods on her stoop at the idea that black, the color word she knows labels her, is absent from the rainbow. So she narrates a meditation in verse on what "Black is ... ." She affirms the beauty in herself, and the diversity in the community, culture and history of Black people, and concludes that Black contains a rainbow all its own.
Is It Any Good?
Warm illustrations and smart verse make this picture book appealing for children who need to be read to as well as those who can read on their own. Author Angela Joy wrote Black Is a Rainbow Color to address an observation by her daughter that they are literally brown, not black. Joy repeats the word "Black" in every line, claiming it with affection and pride. There's a heavy hint of spirituality in illustrator Euka Holmes's motifs of stained glass and soaring birds.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about all the ways people can identify themselves. Black Is a Color of the Rainbow explores what it is to be Black. What are some different ways you describe yourself?
What's your favorite illustration in Black Is a Rainbow Color?
What does the author mean when she writes "black is a rainbow, too"?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Ekua Holmes
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Activism , History
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publication date : January 14, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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