Skin Again

by bell hooks, Chris Raschka (Illustrator)

From legendary author and critic bell hooks and multi-Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka comes a new way to talk about race and identity that will appeal to parents of the youngest readers.



The skin I'm in is just a covering. It cannot tell my story. If you want to know who I am, you have got to come inside and open your heart way wide.

Race matters, but only so much--what's most important is who we are on the inside. Looking beyond skin, going straight to the heart, we find in each other the treasures stored down deep. Learning to cherish those treasures, to be all we imagine ourselves to be, makes us free.

This award-winning book, celebrates all that makes us unique and different and offers a strong, timely and timeless message of loving yourself and others.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Cultural, Race, Fiction, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2004

About the author

bell hooks (deliberately in lower-case; born Gloria Jean Watkins) was an African-American author, feminist, and social activist. Her writing focused on the interconnectivity of race, class, and gender and their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of oppression and domination. She published over thirty books and numerous scholarly and mainstream articles, appeared in several documentary films and participated in various public lectures. Primarily through a postmodern female perspective, she addressed race, class, and gender in education, art, history, sexuality, mass media and feminism.

Reviews

[Alexa Maring · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read this book, I was not its biggest fan. I thought the book had a wonderful concept, but I was not sold. When this book was use as a reader's theater, my opinion turned. I fell in love with this book. Using reader's theater made this book more personal and intimate. It allowed me to own a part in the words. This would serve exceptionally well for introducing race and civil rights in the classroom. This book teaches us to look past the color of one's skin and to see ourselves past the color of our skin. Using this book in the classroom will help build a strong group of individuals who see each other for their heart not their outward appearance. "...it does not tell my story." It is so important for students to see each other for who they are, but also to see themselves as more than their skin color, hair color, or another feature that people can use to categorize. This book offers an ownership to loving yourself and your heart. What a powerful class read to build an open community within your classroom!

[Amy Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skin again can be used in the first week of school in order to start building classroom community. The illustrations pop from the pages! This book is for both adults and children encase we need a reminder to not judge people by their skin.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The message is great, and I loved the blocky-style illustrations. However, the language is pretty convoluted at points. I'm not sure a little kid would be able to follow exactly what the author is getting at the whole way through the book.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has one, big important message that is repeated several times. The format and illustrations makes it look like a book for young children, however it can be the seed for discussion and writing for older kids.

[Heather Bowden]

The main idea of this book is to look past skin to get to the heart of who we are. We can't determine who we are until we look beneath the surface, and once we do this we will see that we are the same. There are no main characters, you just see some of the same faces throughout the book. This book is fiction.
As a literacy teacher, I would read this perhaps in a small group setting and have the children draw inside a tracing of a body all the things they like to do, and we can talk about what each child likes and not focus on what each child looks like. I think the children would like the story, I just think more elaboration might be needed at the end of the story. For example, "Does the author want us to only look at skin color or should we look past it and see what each friend is like on the inside?" Kindergarteners, I believe, should be able to grasp the idea with little explanation from me.
The author is an African- American female and the illustrator is a Caucasian male. I thought this was interesting because they are different in many ways. I believe they can relate, just from the experience of working together to create this book. They tied in multicultural pictures to relate well with the text. This relates to my topic because it talks about getting to know each other, and not just looking at skin color because "it cannot tell my story." And in getting to know each other you can create a friendship.

[Beckie Coldiron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful story that tells the important concept of looking deeper than just a person's skin color. This book also has several hidden meaning illustrations, which ultimately take the book to the next level. As a future teacher, I would definitely incorporate this towards the beginning of the year while we're building community. Besides being a book that promotes a positive concept, this book could also help promote readers theater in the classroom. I would recommend this book for children in 1st- 4th grade.

[Hannah Morrison]

Bell Hooks is one of my overall favorite authors and I was so excited when we shared this book in class. So often we see children's books as being mindless fun but books like Skin Again teach such valuable lessons in a beautiful way. These types of books are not shared enough in classes and I feel that this really short changes our students and underestimates their abilities as critical thinkers. We need to introduce these concepts young so students grow up understanding what those before them did not.

[Janet Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was different and written in a poetic style. May be a great book to pull out during your poetry lesson for kids to read. It teaches a great lesson within the book. Students themselves face racial tensions and they need to understand at a young age that there is no need for racism still in this day. The illustrations are vivid and captivating also.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Skin Again" is a great book to read to your students. It is inspirational in that it promotes self confidence and the acceptance of all people. It is good for developing readers since the text is simple and repeats throughout the book.

[Renae Williams]

This is a beautifully written multicultural book that promotes appreciation of the skin you are in. This book has unique illustrations, and the flow of the book is so smooth and poetic.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a real fan of abstract-ity and the wording of this book. The kids didn't like it either, although my daughter liked to pick out all the girls and say that was her.

[Kirsten]

A powerful book!

[Katie Dicesare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to buy for my classroom---awesome!

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important book to read today and every year. An important book to discuss and have conversations around.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poem and illustrations in this book show that even though skin color is an important part of someone's identity, we have to build relationships with people to know who they really are inside. Some of the poetic turns of phrase will be too complex for very young readers, but the message is clear, and this can appeal to all ages. I found this reissued book refreshing in comparison to many recent children's books about race, which tend to be extremely preachy, focus on identity politics, and are written more for adults than children.

[Rebecca Dougherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lol, I have to laugh when reviewers say they didn't like this book because it's too poetic. I guess they don't know who bell hooks is. Educate yourselves.

I actually felt more uncomfortable reading this book than Chocolate Me by Taye Diggs. No, Skin Again didn't say to be color blind, but it reads a little too much like it's meant for white people to feel comfortable. This wouldn't be my first pick to share with students.

I like Chris Raschka's illustrations in this book.

[maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

not only was bell hooks an icon in every right, she also wrote an outstanding childrens book.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I read this in a super expensive bookshop in Milan out of pure spite? Yes I did. It's a sweet book and if I had kids or knew people with English speaking kids, I'd gift them that. :)

[Janeen Pizzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm already thinking of ways that I can use this as a mentor text for my students as we begin/continue to talk about identity and criticality in the classroom.

[Diana V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Point of View: First Person

Organization/ Unique Features: "Skin Again" has synthesized a fundamental message of identity for young children. The overall message "Our skin is just a cover..." is portrayed in each page with few words and vibrant pictures. Instead of having a straight through narrative, the text turns somewhat poetic and rhythmic, repeating lines and words. The illustrations are brought to life through the powerful usage of words.

Main Ideas:
Identity
Diversity
Celebrating Differences

Recommended: I would recommend "Skin Again" because this book allows young readers to recognize the concept of identity. By reading "Skin Again," children will begin to understand that an individuality and identity go beyond the surface. Although students might not reason the complexity of one's identity, young readers can develop an understanding and appreciation of individuality through reading this book.

Personal Reaction: Reading "Skin Again" reminded me of the importance of knowing individuals beyond their skin "cover." When reflecting back on the overall message of the book, I understood that it is never too early to begin discussing one's identity. Although some would argue that discussing race and identity with children is challenging, I consider that the complexity of this concept is synthesized for all children to understand.

Satisfying Concluding Statement: "Our skin is [literally] just a cover..."

[Liander (The Towering Pile) Lavoie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skin Again is a children's book by bell hooks, the well-known writer who focuses on the interconnectivity of race, gender, and class, and the system of oppression produced by them.

This book has a powerful message: that skin is just a covering, and you have to come inside and open your heart to really know someone. It does not make the mistake of advocating "colourblindness", as another author may have done in writing this story. It acknowledges that the colour of one's skin is part of that person, but not the whole.

The writing is very poetic. That's actually what brought my rating down. I'm not a big fan of poetry, because I often find it hard to understand. I like some poetry. But there were some parts in this book where I didn't entirely understand a sentence here and there, and I'm an adult. I assume I'm better at understanding poetry than the average child (at least I hope so). So it seems like kids might be confused at times.

The illustrations, by Chris Raschka, are really nice. They're very vivid, and different from what I usually see in kids' books.

3 stars.

This review is copied from my blog, The Towering Pile. It was originally published here.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This young children’s picture book has a mature and positive message about race and identity. The majority of the text is printed in alternating black and white large font, although there are phrases found in brown, yellow, blue and green. Many of the sentences are spread over a few pages, each page revealing a phrase or idea of the whole. This layout for the text reinforces the theme that to really understand a person, you must try to see the many pieces of their identity and not just their skin. The illustrations are abstract images of children with various tones of skin color, and appear to be done in oil paints. The medium has been used to blend, streak, and often leave fuzzy/blurred edges. There are also repeated images of onions, snakes, hearts, and squares. The pictures support the idea of boxes not to be put in, and of layers to reveal if one truly wants to understand another. The abstract art is appropriate for a text presenting a complex social issue that requires higher levels of thinking to comprehend. This book is designed for young children, who would immediately identify with the images in the illustrations; but its uses are universal.

[Courtney Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. Throughout the book it says, "If you want to know who I am you have got to come inside and open your heart way wide. " I love that quote. The book continues and talks about the importance of looking past our skin colors and really getting to know the person. The book describes how to do this by looking at their past, present, and future.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! I think that teachers should read this in class and openly discuss what we see on the outside isn't as important as whats on the inside. It should be about what is on the inside and we should try to get to know everyone before judging someone. The illustrations of this book are also very well done!

I would definitely use this book in speech therapy. After reading the book to the client, we could talk about our similarities and differences, on the outside and inside. I think you could also talk about what in your past and present has made you who you are today. GREAT BOOK!

[Angela Moorer]

This was an inspiring read. We are living in racially heavy days and times right now. Many refuse to see this fact but with the election of our president, race is now an issue as it has never been before in our generation. Luckily, there are books like this that tackle the race subject up front. I love the painting in this book. I would do a picture walk to ensure students appreciate this aspect. The poetic nature of the writing is also appealing. This is a great share at any time. I wouldnt tie anything in with this. I would want students to listen and take something away with them after hearing this book. The lesson students can gain from this book are life lessons that even teachers cannot teach.

[Brigid Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Skin Again," by bell hooks, is a kids book with interesting illustrations accompanying a poem about skin color and what it does and does not tell about a person. It's a great poem, lyrical and engaging, for an adult. My 4 1/2 year old enjoyed the book alright but never asked for a re-read and didn't seem super engaged. It is, I think, above his ability to comprehend. We'll try again when he's a little older. As the white parent of a white child, I could conceivably spend my entire life never talking to my kid about race or racism. We could just ignore it entirely. Or we could talk about being "color blind," a different way of ignoring racism and racial inequality. "Skin Again" is one way to start talking about race and skin color and differences.

[alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the message of this book: your skin/appearance doesn't define you. The book is written in the first person ("The skin I'm in is just a covering. It cannot tell my story.") so that the book builds in a way of how others should treat you/how you should expect to be treated (as opposed to directly stating how we should view and interact with others). My biggest problem is getting the rhythm of reading the book aloud. I've read through it a few times now and can't quite wrap myself around how I would read it aloud to a child or a class. What points am I emphasizing? How can I use the illustrations to draw the kids into the meaning of the story? I think it has a great message for kids (bell hooks <3), but I'm just not sure how to best use it yet.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book to read and so great to talk with students about our skin color and how it is only an outside force - it should not be looked at in other ways. It was very powerful and poetic, and can definitely be used for a lesson on rhythms and beats. The teacher could read in rhythm as students clap or snap along to the beats and find this rhythm as we read. bell hooks does a great job addressing an important issue. I also loved the images of the onions and snakes, with their skin on the outside - this is wonderful to show students that we have an outside to us, and the inside is the important part.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a poetic feel. As a poet, I was immediately hooked. I would love to hear the predictions my students would make just from the title and cover. The author keeps a consistent rhythm throughout the text in reminding her readers that what's inside a person is so much more important than what you see at face value. I would love to do an experiment in my class similar to the "blue eye, brown eye" experiment done in the past. This would help my students to make connections and understand why judging someone solely on what they look like is unfair. This could also be used to show students the craft of repetition and how it can make a text powerful.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The skin I'm in is just a covering. It cannot tell my story." This is the central concept of this picture book illustrated by Chris Raschka. Using symbols and a rough sketchy style of painting, we make the match between the words and the pictures to deepen our understanding of the concept. For example, colored squares represent the "inside" essence of each figure and when the squares switch owners we infer that the figures have truly understood each other. An onion shape is repeated throughout as well, another hint to the multiple layers of each person's story. A good choice for discussion.

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good message of the book teaches that a person's appearance doesn't tell you what kind of person he/she is. However, the language was confusing and overdone even for me, so I had to explain the point all over again after reading it.

"All real then. In that place where skin again is one small way to see me but not real enough to be all the me of me or the you of you. For we are all inside made up of real history, real dreams, and the stuff of all we hope for when we can be all real together on the inside."