The Blacker the Berry

Author: Joyce Carol Thomas

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Genre: Poetry

Grade level: 2-5

Award: Coretta Scott King illustration award and author 

This book is a collection of poems that celebrate a wide variety of skin colors. Each poem shows a different berry and skin color. It helps children appreciate the beauty of different skin colors. It is all conveyed through the eyes of a child. 

This book can be used as a journal response prompt where students must appreciate themselves and their own skin. It can be used during the poetry unit as well.

The pictures capture the happiness of the child and are very light and beautiful. They go along with the poem well and really demonstrate exactly what the lesson the poem is trying to get across.