Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Acknowledging how "not seeing a person's color erases a big part of who that person is," Bolling and Pew highlight nearly two dozen nuanced tones in this intersectional work. An introductory page calls out how the misguided idea "I don't see color" ignores "the experiences of people of color, their humanness, and the everyday effects of racism." Free-verse text subsequently establishes that "color is history./ Color is our story./ I see color" before segueing into concise descriptions of activists, leaders, and allies. On one page, "SMOKY QUARTZ" introduces Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich "writing the words that would change history," while "WARM BEIGE" references Sue Ko Lee "striking against poor working conditions and demanding higher pay." Frazier's digital drawings lean into emotive portraiture, while backgrounds hint at the context behind the presented figures' actions, throughout this high-level work that underscores "all that can be achieved together." Authors' notes and more about featured activists conclude. Secondary characters are portrayed in fanciful monochrome palettes. Ages 4--8. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4--This book takes on a deeply harmful expression often uttered by well-meaning people: "When people say, 'I don't see color,' they think it means that they don't discriminate against others for how they look. But using this phrase means that the experiences of people of color, their humanness, and the everyday effects of racism are ignored." For the three collaborators of these pages, "Color is history. Color is our story. I see color." From the outset, the wording is poetic, but the history is foundational and deep. "I see Smoky Quartz," appears as paperwork is signed, creating the Alaska Native Brotherhood in 1912, the first to fight for the rights of Tlingit communities and others. Each page after page is just as weighty, with "Warm Beige" for Sue Ko Lee, standing up for Chinese ladies' garment workers unions and picketing for higher wages, and "Gleaming Stardust" for Madonna Thunder Hawk and Tom Goldtooth protecting Native lands. The colors continue through the century, name by name, including Dolores Huerta, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X., the Black Lives Matter movement of recent times, and naming allies "listening more than they speak." Every page is an impressive portrait of one or more determined individuals, and brief biographies are listed in the back matter that will send researchers off to learn more. The list of colors alone is an education in a respectful way to address our many differences and similarities, but the lasting impression for children will be that this palette has range, many paths have been partially forged, and that there is more to do. VERDICT An eye-opening album to be read, cherished, used as a cornerstone for study, or shared across curricula.--Kimberly Olson Fakih
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The love and appreciation of color shines through this vibrant retrospective on activism, courage, and resistance. As an emphatic corrective to the oft-repeated but misguided phrase "I don't see color," luminous digital illustrations offer an unabashed education in race, culture, and the history of hard-fought social justice wins. An omniscient narrator sees a full palette, from the "smoky quartz" of Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich, Tlingit activists whose advocacy led to the United States' first anti-discrimination laws, to the "golden embers" of Native Hawaiian protesters such as Haunani-Kay Trask, who pushed for the U.S. government to acknowledge its role in overthrowing the Kingdom of Hawaii. Using color as a framework that goes beyond skin and race, this picture book celebrates well-known people and their accomplishments, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches or the labor activism of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez. The book also illuminates often-overlooked figures, such as Fred Korematsu, who brought a Supreme Court case against the U.S. government in 1944 over the incarceration of Japanese Americans; Madonna Thunder Hawk, who fought tirelessly against the Dakota Access Pipeline; and Ayọ Tometi, Alicia Garza, and Patrisse Cullors, who founded the Black Lives Matter movement. Each color that's emphasized, from "powdered oak" to "gleaming stardust," not only paints a rich portrait but also provides texture to a cause or cultural context. Backmatter includes authors' notes and brief bios of the illustrious figures included throughout to guide further research. A powerful argument for seeing and celebrating color. (Informational picture book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
