Bright Eyes, Brown Skin by Cheryl Willis Hudson, George Ford (Illustrator), Bernette G. Ford (With)

From the Publisher

Four children who feel good about who they are and how they look enjoy the activities of a typical day at school, happy and brimming with confidence and self-esteem.

Publishers Weekly

Igus's comfortable story unwinds through a gentle and credible conversation between an African American boy and his grandfather. On his annual summer visit to the country, Noel engages in his favorite activity: fishing off a small pier. The child listens intently as his grandfather reminisces about his boyhood swims in the river, when he and his friends swung into the water from a rope attached to a large tree. This memory evokes others, and grandfather enumerates the many differences of that simpler era, when his family lived without a refrigerator, TV, telephone, indoor toilet or car. As the elder recalls the past, Bond's strikingly naturalistic, richly hued paintings give way to black-and-white drawings that effectively evoke the lifestyle of the period. At last, Noel experiences the excitement of catching his first fish, and as his grandfather remembers the thrill of his first catch, he concludes that ``it's good to see that the important things are still the same.'' Ages 6-9. (Dec.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 1-- A poem extolling the beauty of African-American children forms the basis for celebration of a positive self-image. Four attractive children engage in typical kindergarten pastimes as the rhyming text rhapsodizes about their dimpled chins, ``teeth that glisten,'' and ``very special hair and clothes.'' Whereas building self-esteem and acknowledging children's charms are commendable goals, they are not enough to build a book upon. Yes, these boys and girls are appealing, but they are so unusually cooperative and cheerful, smiling nonstop throughout the pages of this slim volume, that real live children, with all of the emotions and moods that are a part of being human, may have difficulty relating to them. --Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library

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