Am I a Color Too?

by Heidi Cole, Nancy Vogl

A young interracial boy wonders why people are labeled by the color of their skin. Seeing that people dream, feel, sing, smile and dance, regardless of their color, he asks, ?Am I a color, too?? Gerald Purnell's powerful art brings this simple poem vibrantly to life. "When I think of all the people, All those faces in my sight, If people are really colors, There should be more than black and white."

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Hannah Klumb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story on diversity.

[Kate Chazin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book-poem, a biracial child discusses his black father and white mother. They may look different, but they have so much the same--the same last name, the same smiles, the same love for each other and for their son. He looks around at people in a busy crowd and sees people of every different color--is he a color too, he wonders? What label fits for him? He begins to see the ways that labels of black and white don't fit. People physically look like every different color, but they also dance, sing, dream, think, feel, and love in every color of the rainbow. When he asks himself again, is he a color?, he answers to himself that no, he is a Tyler. This book teaches anti-bias and depicts diversity--people of every ethnicity are featured throughout the book. It very explicitly teaches that we are not defined by the color of our skin, but by our actions and the way we exist in the world. This book would be a great launching point for talking about the ways we are all the same, despite our physical differences. However, this book would be very abstract for a preschooler or young child, who seem to be the target audience of the book--what would it mean to a preschooler to dance, sing, think, dream, and love in every color of the rainbow? To ground the book and make it more concrete, I might ground it with an activity where children can dance with different colored scarves and paint with different colored paintbrushes, and talk about the ways our dancing and painting is the same and different. I would also use this book and activity as a launchpad for talking about how people are the same and different in many ways--phenotypically, family composition, hobbies and interests, favorite centers, etc.--and the ways they are still all the same, and reasons to value our similarities and differences. Further, the use of rhyme throughout provides opportunities to practicing rhyming, onsets/rimes, and the use of clozes and text prediction.

[Ch_ebonysmith]

“I am a human being, not a color” are the words from little Tyler in this most beautiful book. One of the most wonderful stories I have ever read for young readers, this book is about a biracial boy, Tyler (black and white). He describes his parents’ features and wonders, like many children in his situation, what is his color. This story embraces, intelligently, the curiosities of biracial children. Children may, in deed, wonder what their place is in society and what their “color” is. This story is for young to older readers because of the theme of the book.
The book is a based on the author’s son’s experiences growing up. It has won several awards: Benjamin Franklin Award for best multicultural book, the Christopher Award for best book for young people, and the Wanda Gag Award for outstanding read-aloud book.

In my class alone, there are several biracial children. I believe a book such as this is very influential in helping children appreciate themselves as multiracial human being. I love the fact that in the story, Tyler does not get too hung up on identifying his actual color and is more concerned with being a human being. We are human beings and we need to respect our differences, children need to identify with characters in books and this book certainly can be one resource.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a picture book about a boy named Tyler. His mother is white and his father is black. His father is “like the dark night sky” and his mother is “like the clouds way up high.” He wonders why people are categorized by the color of their skin. So, he questions the color of his own skin. He describes that people see in every color and nothing is just black and white. In the end he says that he is just Tyler, not a color or a word. He says, “I think I’m just a person, a person just like you.” This is a good book to use in the classroom to introduce children to different types of families. I will focus more on the family as human beings than the color of the skin, just like the boy in the book says that he is just a person not a color. The students can draw their own families in their literacy journals. Then, they will describe what they drew by writing a few sentences under their drawing. For the earlier grades, the students can describe what they drew verbally or try to write sentences and spell words. I like the fact that the author, Heidi Cole, used her own son and his experiences to write this book. The book provides an authentic point of view. The illustrations, done by Gerald Purnell, are very colorful and detailed. It will keep the students attention and promote discussion.

[Arissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy named Tyler wonders if he is a color because his parents are labeled. They are an interracial couple and he curious to know if he is a color. He states "People call my dad black, like the dark night sky" His mom is the complete opposite he says, "They say my mom is White, Like the clouds way up high." Tyler understands similarities that they both possess like their smiles, eyes, and they both have the same last name but wonders, "Am I a color Too?" He views people in the community as different colors that he notices but people everywhere do everything in every color, "Not just in black and white", he says. He comes to the conclusion that he is a person just like you and I. This book can be used to show children that we shouldn't be labeled by the color of our skin and it uses rhyming to get that point across. The authors dedicate this book to Tyler and Justin, which Tyler was thee main character. The authors wrote the book to and about his experiences being an child that is interracial.

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about an interracial boy. This boy is questioning where he fits in and how he can categorize himself. In the end, he realizes that he is his own person and whether he has a title or not, he is Tyler!It is really important that a child defines himself/herself ,and this was really well done by Heidi Cole, Nancy Vogl .It should be also taken in consideration that this child is very bright making analogies such as: "people call my dad black , like the dark night sky,they say my mom is white , like the clouds way up high." Heidi Cole and her mother Nancy Vogl collaborated on this poem as a way of honoring Heidi's son, Tyler. Gerald Purnell's powerful art brings this simple poem vibrantly to life and connects well to the words, the whole book.I really liked the title of the book because it refers to the children's mentality . The question : Am I a color too? was very well answered in this little book though with a rich message, " no, my name is Tyler.I am a person just like you " Lovely end , with powerful meaning"

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a biracial boy named Tyler. Tyler's dad is black "like the dark night sky" and his mom is white "like the the clouds way up high." Tyler is questioning what color he is. He identifies with both his mom and dad, so he is unsure where he fit in. He talks about how people see in every color, not just black and white. At the end of the book he answers his question "am I a color too?" by saying "no my name is Tyler. I'm a person just like you."

This book would be great to read with all young students to help them understand the differences and similarities in people. It is important that kids see people as more alike than different. This would also be a great book to teach students about poetry. It talks about how people dream, think and feel in every color. The pictures are very detailed and really help bring the poem to life.

[Ch_nataliepelaia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book online on the site Big Universe reader. This is the first book I have ever read that deals with a little boy who has a black father and a white mother. He wants to know what color he is, he says everyone else has a color but him. He wants to know why people label eachother by colors and why he doesn't have one? In the end he states he is not known for who he is by his color but by his name. After reading this book it made me stop and really think about how this boy must feel. How confusing would that be to a young child? This book made me think about my surrondings. I really enjoyed reading this.

[Megan MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this story, an interracial boy is questioning where he fits in and how he can categorize himself. In the end, he realizes that he is his own person and whether he has a title or not, he is Tyler! I think a lot of kids could relate to this story, many young children are looking for a place where they can fit it. It is important to teach childrne that everybody is unique and they should be accepted for who they are. Also, this story can be a good eye opener for children who are not dealing with having to question themselves. Overall, I thought this was a good inspirational story for young children that was easy for them to understand.

[Terry]

Tyler is looking for just the right word to identify who he is. Through poetry he explains how he sees the world in hopes that the world will know how to see him. This is a nice poem. The illustrations are fabulous and the expressions on the children's faces draw you in to seeing the world as Tyler does.

To read our full review (complete with the kids' opinions!) go to The Reading Tub®.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book - the language was powerful but still set to a bouncy rhyme easy for young children to take in, and my daughter was totally engrossed in the gorgeous pictures. I did struggle a little with the message of the book, though. I'm still not sure if the book was suggesting that we should ignore color in favor of just all being labeled "human beings," or if we should acknowledge color, but not let us define us - I feel like that could have been better defined, though the confusion does stay true to the level of understanding of the young child, Tyler, who narrates the book.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a little boy who has a father who is black and a mother who is white. He asks himself the question "What color am I." He thinks he needs to be a color throughout the book. He knows he has both his mom and his dad in him. He realizes that every color smiles and every color laughs and he just wants to be himself.

Great book to add to my diversity collection.

[Brooke Call · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book because I wanted to find a book that was diverse and included many ethnicities. I liked this book because it showed that everyone should be treated the same because we are all human. I also liked it because it could be used to teach younger kids that they should treat others the way they want to be treated.

[Kelsey Scherer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible story all about diversity. It is beautifully written and illustrated. I really love how it discusses how unique every individual is, no matter the color. Very inspirational and a great book to include in all rooms.

[Maura]

This book is good for kindergarten children. The message it is teaching the children is that no matter what your color is, everyone is the same. I would use this book in my classroom.

[Sam Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the premise - books like this will be especially helpful in the next few years - and the illustrations are lovely, but the text is just a bit too cliched overall.

[Laci · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a book on colors and diversity and how we are equal.

[Katie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book talks about different races: black, white and multiracial. It encourages acceptance and equality for everyone. Really great book.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the illustration in this book.

[Sam Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book about race, equality, and finding ones true self. A great book to read to children who need to understand color and how we're just the same.

[Makkena · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! Teaches people that not everyone is the same and it shouldn’t matter their skin color or where they came from just what the ads capable of.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sensitive treatment reminds readers that we are all humans and share many commonalities. Gorgeously illustrated.