Brown is warm, black is bright

PreS-Gr 1--Employing full-color figurative digital paintings and structured verse, this book is a joyous celebration of the bucolic life of an Black child and her father. Thomson's succinct verses are split in half between spreads, alternating "Brown is" and "Black is" on the right side of the spread, and with the turn of the page, the rest of the verse appears on the left side of the next spread. These take the form of alliterative, poetic, sometimes onomatopoeic descriptions of hope. For example, the book opens with a Black girl in boots jumping into a pile of fallen leaves in front of a suburban house; the text, "Brown is crisp" appears in the lower right corner. The following spread has her next words, "crunch and crackle,/ catch me as I fall." The paintings are largely of pastoral settings, such as fallen leaves, puddles, a bird flying in the sky, and a forest; there are a few pages of the child and her father, with two spreads that serve as a brief history lesson of African American struggles and triumphs. The book makes for a beautiful read-aloud for a group setting with its detailed full-color vibrant imagery and for individual sharing. VERDICT File this under Black joy, childhood, autumn reveries, or pair with other celebrations of Black strength and beauty, such as Tami Charles's All Because You Matter and Useni Eugene Perkins's Hey Black Child.--Vi Ha

A young brown-skinned child happily goes about their day, accompanied by a nurturing adult. The child, who has an afro-puff ponytail framed by cornrow braids, plays in piles of leaves and water puddles, watches a bird soar in the sky, drinks tea with honey while reading about the actions of African American activists during the civil rights movement, and plays a stringed instrument before being tucked into bed with a kiss by their caregiver. Both the child and caregiver are Black. Simple text complements the illustrations and links the colors brown and black to both the actions depicted and the natural world: "Brown is crisp // …crunch and crackle, / catch me as I fall"; "Black is flight… // inky wings / on wet watercolor clouds." The verses are beautifully written ("Black is bright… // tender darkness / glowing between stars"; "Black is hope… // floating far / a flower hidden deep"). However, younger readers may need assistance teasing out the connection between the often complex text and the more accessible images. Illustrations, drawn and painted digitally, are soft, rich, and warm, evoking feelings of safety and calm. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A solid contribution that celebrates the everyday joy of Black children and their families. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.