Pretty Brown Face

Family Celebration Board Books

by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)

Help boil the greens, flip the fish, and slice the pie for a mouth-watering family meal in I Smell Honey, then join the fun as a baby boy discovers the unique features that make his face so special in Pretty Brown Face. In Shake Shake Shake and Watch Me Dance, explore the joys of rhythm and movement. These spirited board books celebrate the loving closeness of an African American family.

Genres: Picture Books, Anti Racist, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Young Readers, Cultural, Fiction

16 pages, Board Book

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Honor Book Duke Ellington, illustrated by Brian Pinkney; Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book and winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award; and Alvin Ailey, a Parenting Publication Gold medal winner.

Pinkney's newest books include Meet the Obamas and Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride, which has garnered three starred reviews and has been named one of the "Best Books of 2009" by School Library Journal. In 2010, Andrea's book entitled Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down, was published on the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-ins of 1960.

Her mother is a teacher and her father is a great storyteller, so growing up surrounded by books and stories is what inspired Andrea Davis Pinkney to choose a career as an author. The first official story she remembers writing was in second grade — it was about her family. Pinkney was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Connecticut. She went to Syracuse University, where she majored in journalism. After college, she followed her dream and worked as an editor for Essence magazine, but after watching her husband, Caldecott Award-winning artist Brian Pinkney, illustrate children's books, she decided to switch jobs and became involved in book publishing.

Andrea Davis Pinkney currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/andrea-d...

Reviews

[The Other Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not going to lie, I blubbered like a big old baby while reading this board book to my daughter. The surprise at the end delighted her ever so much, but left me crying so hard, I felt like I needed an IV drip of Gatorade.

[Lovee · Rating 5 out of 5]

•The key themes and topics of this book includes self-love, racial identity, and the celebration of African American beauty. It promotes a positive representation for the black community.
•Audience: 3-8 years old
•I chose this book because it promotes positive self-image and celebrates diversity and inclusion. I like its singalong language and popping illustrations. I like at the end it reflects to the one reading it.
•I will use this book in my future classroom by initiating circle time with what makes me special questions while embracing uniqueness and differences in our identities.

[Chubby93 Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reading by Jill Scott.

[Tábata Kotowiski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook ouvido/assistido pela série da Netflix Bookmarks, Celebrating Black Stories. A série tem 12 episódios e cada um, com duração média de 6 minutos, é a leitura de um livro escritor por negros, com histórias voltadas para os negros e lidas por negros. Vale a pena assistir.

[Leah Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty Brown Face is a sweet and simple story, perfect for younger readers in kindergarten-3rd grades who enjoy picture books with a deeper meaning. It follows a little boy who notices his reflection and begins exploring what makes his face special. The young fella admires his bright eyes, smooth skin, and joyful smile. With the help of his loving father, he learns to appreciate and celebrate his beautiful brown face. I picked this book because it’s such a positive and affirming story about self-love and identity. In class, students will connect with the warm father-son bond and the theme of self-acceptance. It’s a great book to spark discussions about confidence, family, and embracing who you are.

[Emily N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for helping the younger children understand and value diversity. The book walks through the special features of a Black child's face, showing that they have the same features as everyone else and they and everyone else is so beautiful because of it. The pictures in this book are very simple, and bright, drawing attention back to the child's face. I think this is a beautiful and fun book for children to learn about and to celebrate diversity.

[Annamarie Carlson (she, her)]

Baby and daddy have fun together finding each other's body parts.

This adorable board book highlights body parts, especially facial features, before ending with a mirror for little ones to look at themselves. Features a brown dad and baby. Great choice for a virtual storytime.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very short sweet story reinforcing self love for little brown children - reminding them they are pretty, with their curly hair and big eyes.

Read for me by Jill Scott on the Netfilx series Bookmarks.

[Ashley Frickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, simple book pointing out the features of baby’s face and encouraging self-love. Has a mirror at the end so each child can look and appreciate their own unique features.

[Liz De Coster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations and the mirror at the end was a hit, but I couldn't get into the meter of the words very well.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

African American and father boardbook that points out various aspects of the face/head and ends with a mirror.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart-filling.

[Tonia Christle · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUCH an important book for the babies. I loved it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow so cute I love it,!

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for grades 6 mos- PK children with brown skin and a great way to help those little ones develop a positive self-image BECAUSE of their pretty brown faces.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good simple illustrations and words fitting for a board book. It goes through the different parts of the face and the last page is a mirror.

[Sharon Velez Diodonet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that this book celebrates blackness and celebrates our features

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rhythm doesn't scan quite right for me, probably because it feels like it should rhyme, but it doesn't. It is nonetheless full of joy, and important for faces who may not see themselves as often.

[SamSamSam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vocabulary

[Lauren C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful book celebrating all the wonderful things about being a person of color. It was the perfect way to start talking about race with my toddlers.

[Meaghan]

First read: no rating

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watched the Netflix series Bookmarks and singer Jill Scott did an amazing job reading this book. It was simple but so sweet!

I decided to checkout the print version. I didn’t like it as much without Jill Scott reading it. Haha. Still a very cute board book though.

[Kaelyn O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a picture book that covers the different features of each face. The main subjects of the illustrations are a young African American boy and his father. The illustrations are not overly elaborate, but they do serve their purpose well in that they are to the point. The main point of this book, then, is to highlight the fact that every human has the same facial features and thus we are all human no matter the way you look. People come in all different shapes, sizes and colors and there is nothing wrong with looking different. It means that it doesn't matter what you look like because we are all unique individuals and we are all human beings alike. I really like the message that this book portrays and I really like the fact that at the end there is a mirror that shows the image of the reader; even further enforcing the main theme of the book. I think in a young classroom where students are still learning these kinds of lessons about human equality, this book would be a great addition to a classroom library and maybe even a read aloud to really drive home the point that the book is making. Overall, this was a great read and practical.

[Andrew Upchurch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book highlighted the features of a face. It goes through the book touching on each and every different feature of someone’s face. They use a young African American boy and his father throughout the illustrations in the book. The pictures were simple and to the point. There was not an overload of color as the only colors that really stood out was the red and blue pajamas on the boy and his father and the brown used for their skin color. My favorite part about this book was the surprise ending at the end with a mirror built into the page so you can see your face at the end. This book would be perfect for giving a lesson to younger students about how we are all people and we come in many different shapes and sizes. This book highlights the importance that it isn’t important what you look like. The importance is that we all have features that make us unique.

[Alazaih]

In this book the author represented the character flawlessly. The pictures and both the text addressed African American heritage and the beauty with it. The language within the text is easy appropriate for young students and easy to understand. The book includes realistic characters as well as creates a genuine lifestyle for the younf boy and his father. The illustrations correseond thuroughly to the text by creating a deepened knowledge through images. This book is great at interesting children, keeping their attention, and educating young children.

[Yaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just sweet and fun to read aloud while pointing out facial features with your baby. Lovely celebration of brown babies!

[Jordan Pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is that beautiful face in the mirror? Why it is baby, held by a loving daddy. This simple yet appealing book is presented in a format appropriate for the youngest reader to hold.