African American Literature-Module Two

Bibliography

Bryan, Ashley. 2003. Beautiful Blackbird. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689847319.

Plot Summary

Based upon an adaptation of a Zambian tale, the colorful birds of Africa are envious of the blackbird because his feathers reflect all of the colors when he is in the sun. No longer are the solid colored birds happy with their feathers. Although blackbird tells all the birds that “color on the outside is not what’s inside…” they still insist on receiving a stroke from his feather brush which has been freshly dipped in his gourd of black paint. After receiving their own distinguished black marks, they begin to circle around blackbird and sing, “Oh beautiful black, uh-huh, uh-huh/Black is beautiful, uh-huh!” as blackbird’s feathers reflect the colors of all of the birds.

Critical Analysis

Ashley Bryan, Coretta Scott King Award winning illustrator (Let It Shine) 2008, brings the feathered friends to life in his colorful collage pages of Beautiful Blackbird. The solid colored, scissor snipped birds seem to fly across the double-page spreads once they receive their special black marks from blackbird’s gourd of paint. A touch of black is all it took to make everyone feel beautiful. It seems that Bryan has taken a homogeneous approach toward linking this Zambian tale with African American cultural markers. By allowing blackbird to give all the birds black markings similar to his own, they each appear to be in harmony with themselves and each other because they feel there is a unifying bond between them; the color black. The story subtly conveys a message of tolerance and self-love.

Review Excerpts

“In this simple adaptation of a tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia, the message is clear: "Black is beautiful."Once upon a time, Blackbird was the only bird of Africa who wasn't brightly colored. When Ringdove asks who is the most beautiful bird, the other birds name Blackbird. At Ringdove's request, Blackbird brings blackening from his medicine gourd to decorate Ringdove's colored neck; the other birds also want trimming, so Blackbird paints dots and brushes lines and arcs until his gourd is empty. Using a more vivid palette than usual, Bryan employs boldly colored, cut-paper artwork to dramatize the action. The overlapping collage images fill the pages with energy as the songlike responses of the birds tap out a rhythm punctuated with "uh-huhs." Booklist

“Here's a life-enhancing folktale from Zambia--how birds got their black markings--and a simple, scissors-and-brush way of using collage. Silhouetted birds, in shades of violet, yellow, green, blue, are oddly drab without markings. Ringdove asks Blackbird, the most beautiful, to paint him a necklace of black; Blackbird complies, then promises the others touches of black, too. In sum, we can all partake of the beauty of black.” Horn Book starred

Connections

Readers might also consider other books showcasing diversity as in these titles below:
Adoff, Arnold. Black is brown is tan. Ill. Emily Arnold McCully. ISBN 9780064432696
Sims, Lesley. How Zebras Got Their Stripes: A Tale from Africa. Ill. Laure Fournier. ISBN 9780794525255