HUES OF YOU BY LUCRETIA CARTER BERRY, PHD

Help children celebrate the incredible range of hues all around them with this activity book that provides an interactive, engaging, and age-appropriate way to navigate conversations around skin tone, race, and racism.

Every person’s skin has a particular shade—or hue—that we can appreciate. Children naturally wonder: Why are there so many skin colors? Why do I look a lot like some people and different from others? Which words best describe my skin color? 
 
But sometimes we feel uncomfortable talking about skin tone, ethnicity, and race. That’s about to change! Inside these pages, kids will get to explore the ways each of us is uniquely designed and discover positive, creative ways to think and talk about the wonderful diversity of hues found in humanity. 
 
Crafted by an experienced educator and advocate for antiracism, Hues of You is divided into four main sections: Hues of You, Hues of Your Family, Hues of Your Ancestors, and Hues of Your Friends. This activity book offers a smart and honest starting point to spark natural, effective, and meaningful conversations in our families, schools, and communities.

MY REVIEW 

We are all uniquely made and even though we may look different we all are to be treated the same. I do think the book may be a little hard for younger children to understand because the author uses words that are not easily recognized. I would have liked to see the author simplify the book more to reach all ages. 

There are many activities throughout to engage children in the different types of color of a person’s skin. I did like how some of the activities looked fun and are interactive to encourage children to be part of the story. The book does do a good job of talking about family and ancestors which helps the children  to learn about their heritage. The illustrations in the book are attractive and eye catching. The book is well made and will be easy to use as children do the activities. 

I’m not sure that I would recommend this book because the author writes the book more as a textbook with explanations that are hard to understand. Children probably haven’t heard the word hue used in reference to skin color and it may confuse them. We have seen in the last several years how the color of one’s skin can cause some to not accept others. I think the author missed the mark in addressing this issue and made the book more complicated than it should have. 

I received a copy of this book from WaterBrook Kids Launch Team. The review is my own opinion.