Hello, friends! Our book today is Black Is A Rainbow Color, written by Angela Joy and illustrated by Ekua Holmes, a phenomenal celebration of black beauty and culture.

As a little girl ponders a rainbow, she laments that black, “her color”, is not one of the traditional rainbow colors. However, she continues, black is multitudinous in and of itself. It can be as simple as the dirt from which sunflowers grow, or rubber bike tires, or the braids of her best friend’s hair. Or it can be the shoes of people marching for their rights, or of Judge Thurgood’s robe. Black can be a feeling, a rhythm, a song, ink staining pages in poetry or lyrics or music or prose. It can be a culture, a movement, a community, and the legacy of those who came before. It can be family, love, history, and hope. So it doesn’t matter that there’s no black in rainbows, the girl concludes – black is a rainbow all its own.

Stunning. The lovely free-verse style text and strikingly vibrant illustrations weave together flawlessly to highlight notable aspects and figures from black history, culture, and art in exultant style. The mixed media art, which heavily evokes stained-glass church windows, features breathtaking scenes with powerful details, such as that of the black-shoed feet of marchers as they trod over a pavement made of Civil Rights-era newspaper headlines. Bonus is the fantastic backmatter, which feature in-depth explanations of the subjects covered in the text, a music playlist, poems by Hughes and Dunbar, and a timeline of American ethnonyms for black people from the 1600s to 2020. The length is perfect for any age, yet the backmatter and sheer power of the story encourage repeat readings. JJ and I loved it, and this is a fabulous title for any bookworm, but an essential for young black readers, who will feel empowered, celebrated, and connected. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)