Author: Julius Lester
Illustrator: Karen Barbour
Publisher and Year: Amistad Pres, 2005
Number of pages: 32
Tags: 4-5, Fiction, Diversity, Culture, Amy Sanchez
Analysis: This book explores the idea that we are all the same under our skin. The author encourages the reader to tell his or her story by thinking about all the attributes that makes them unique. That could be a favorite book, food, religion, heritage, etc. Then the author draws attention to race. He acknowledges that people have tried to use race to prove that they are better than another, but the author encourages the reader to realize that beneath our skin we are all the same. He emphasizes that race is not all there is to one’s identity and discusses how there are many attributes that help define who we are. He ends with challenging the reader to consider taking off their skin and see that we are all the same.
This book can serve as window to understand that there are many aspects that make up our identity. This book portrayed the different attributes that make up the authors identity. This book can also serve as a mirror for multicultural children who are learning to embrace their cultural identity and to learn that their ethnicity is not the only thing that defines them. This book can also be a door to teach children that race is not the most important aspect of a person, because in the end we are just bones. We need to learn to know and understand those around us.
The ideology this book explores is the idea that race is only on aspect of a person and that underneath the skin we are all the same. The author discusses the elements that make up his story and identity. He emphasizes that race is not the most important or the only aspect to his identity. He says that he knows race plays a role, but he is so many other things as well.
The illustrations used in this book are intriguing. The cover has faces of people of different color. The illustrations use very vibrant colors throughout the book. The lines used are very soft. Some of the pages have illustrations that are layered and catch your attention. The illustrations are truly beautiful and bold, adding to the overall text.