What does brown mean to you?

Title:

Author:

Summary:

To Benny, brown is more than just a color. Brown is his Gram’s coffee and his Gramp’s morning kiss. Brown is the wooden spoon he uses for mixing and baking. It’s the ground that grows the tomatoes he loves and it’s the log he plays on. Brown is the fuzzy blanket he takes to his room at the end of the day. Brown is him and brown is love. -- Amazon.

Audience:

Ages 3-7. Nancy Paulsen Books.

Grades K-1 Nancy Paulsen Books.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : chiefly illustrations (color) ; 28 cm

Genre:

Stories in rhyme.

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Human skin color -- Juvenile fiction.

Brown -- Juvenile fiction.

Colors -- Juvenile fiction.

Publisher:

Nancy Paulsen Books,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9780593462881

Publication Information:

New York : Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023.

Call Number:

P GRADY

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003646836	New Picture Books	GRADY	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

This joyously affirming picture book follows a young boy throughout his day as he plays, paints, and bakes, making positive associations with the color of his skin.

To Benny, brown is more than just a color. Brown is his Gram's coffee and his Gramp's morning kiss. Brown is the wooden spoon he uses for mixing and baking. It's the ground that grows the tomatoes he loves and it's the log he plays on. Brown is the fuzzy blanket he takes to his room at the end of the day. Brown is him and brown is love.

In tender, lyrical text and warmly exuberant illustrations, What Does Brown Mean to You ? celebrates all the brilliant and beautiful shades of brown, encouraging children to explore and see the beauty of their skin reflected in their families, communities, and the world around them.

Author Notes

Ron Grady is a preschool educator and researcher. His website, Childology.co, hosts his blog and illustrated resources for educators, parents and caregivers.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2--This vibrant, positive narrative follows a brown-skinned boy through his day as he celebrates the many shades of brown in his family and world. "Brown is my dad who is stirring a mix" and "Brown is the ground where I rest my feet." The boy discovers the many shades of brown all around him, and readers gain appreciation for the beauty of its depths. Grady's book joins others of its kind, such as Samara Cole Doyon's Magnificent Homespun Brown, Ashok Banker's I Am Brown, and Tiffany Rose's M Is for Melanin. Perhaps what sets his book apart is his perspective as a teacher at a nature preschool; his main character is a preschooler exploring his world with curiosity, energy, and joy, which this age group has in droves. The illustrations capture each moment vibrantly, from the muddy puddles to the warm "gooey goodness" of chocolate chip cookies. VERDICT This is a welcome addition to all collections promoting positive skin tone discussions and leading to personal explorations of the title's question. Provocative and generous.--Heidi Dechief

Publisher's Weekly Review

Rooted in appreciation of familial love, the natural world, and creativity, this rhyming day-in-the-life story of a young boy reads like a gentle embrace. Blocky unlined pencil and digital art in a cut-paper style appears against a white background as debut author-illustrator Grady introduces readers to the child and a dog: "Brown is the boy who/ welcomes the day./ Brown is the pup/ sleeping soundly away." Continuing on, the kid heads into the kitchen, where a first-person narrative takes over: "Brown is my dad" making favorite pancakes, and "Brown are Gram's coffee and/ Gramp's morning kiss./ Brown is a lovely moment of bliss." Self-determination prevails as the boy explores out of doors, where "brown is" soil, a cow, chicken eggs, trees, and "the best log for balancing." Back home, images of making, sharing, and gratitude prove emblematic of the word, as the narrator paints, cooks, and dines with family before "getting down with/ my mom to James Brown." It's a simple, positive picture book affirmation that celebrates brown across ages, stages, and shades. All characters are portrayed with brown skin. Ages 3--7. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Jan.)