Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown - Hardcover

Brown is beautiful in all its shades of skin color and in what children see, feel, taste, smell, and touch everywhere. Illustrated with pastel pictures in warm autumn colors, both dark and light, the simple poems celebrate the diversity and the connections in nature, culture, place, and language among blacks, Latinos, Indians, Native Americans, and many mixed-race kids. All the names for brown—from tan and sienna to honey, beige, and ocher—show the wonder of the senses: the tastiness of cocoa (the dark, sweet chocolate of the drink and of the hands that hold the cup), the crunchiness of autumn leaves, the big view of reddish-brown rocks and mountains in the Southwest, the brown topaz stone on the ring finger of a mother’s brown hand. The joyful graphic details range from the ocher-brown mehendi design on an Indian bride’s hands to an adobe home on the windswept desert. In a note, Iyengar remembers hating her brown skin as a child; her book shows how lucky she feels now. Grades K-3. --Hazel Rochman

PreSchool-Grade 2—Fifteen poems celebrate many shades of brown. Words that conjure up smells, sights, sounds, tastes, and textures create imagery that helps to bring the hues to life. "A mug of hot chocolate,/smooth and creamy brown./Tasty, toasty brown./Delightful, delectable brown." Spreads done in pastels are rich, warm, and inviting, but often fail to highlight the featured poem's shade of brown, some of which may be unfamiliar to youngsters. The final selection calls attention to the many shades of skin tones, eyes, and hair. This exploration of the diversity within the spectrum of brown is a lovely tribute to the color. An author's note briefly describes how Iyengar learned to love and value the color of her own skin.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA
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