"Honeysmoke", such a lovely color

 "She sees her color written in the clouds, in the tree leaves, and on the grass"-- Monique Fields

For this week’s children’s book selection, I chose to read and review Honeysmoke by Monique Fields. Simone is a young girl who is curious about her skin color. She realizes that her color is different from her parents. Her mother, who is black, tells her that a color is just a word. When Simone asks her white father if she is black or white, her father responds that she is a little of both. Simone decides to ask her friends at school and each has a different answer. She tests out different colors on her skin and none are her color. Simone draws a girl using pink and brown; she isn’t pink and brown. While thinking about her parents, she notices that her mother is brown like honey and her father is white like smoke. She decides to combine the two to create her color: honeysmoke. 

I love this book for many reasons. The first reason is that this children’s book contains a mixed protagonist. When I was growing up, I had not read a single picture book whose protagonist was biracial; so, I did not see myself reflected in the stories I read. Yesenia Moises’ illustrations are truly joyful and celebrate the characters in the story. The idea of race is handled in such a manner that the reader can infer that even though people are different, we are all mostly the same. I believe that many students will identify with finding their color, because no children are completely white or black; rather, all people are some combination of many colors. 

In the Classroom

I love this book for students in elementary school at any grade level. It is short and can jumpstart many conversations about identity. In my first grade classroom, I would follow this story with a self portrait activity. Students could each create and name their own color. Students could explore human skin palettes and color wheels to find the shade that more closely matches their skin. Then I would have students use Crayola Colors of the World materials or chalk pastels to create their color and name it. I would have students create their self-portrait and write about what makes them unique.