Waterbrook and Multnomah did it again! They have published a book that parents and teachers both need to share with their students and children in today's world! Well done! "Hues of You:An Activity Book for Learning About the Skin You Are In," created by Lucretia Carter Berry, PhD, is an exceptional tool for teaching children the bare facts about skin tone, culture, and race.
I can't say enough about how well it is presented, perhaps I feel that way because when my children were young this is how I explained skin tones to them. We focused on color as a genetic origin due to melanin levels in the skin and not as a product purely of race or culture. We discussed how various people look due to where their ancestors and the climate that their families originated and why this affected their overall appearance. "Hues of You" approaches the topic in exactly the same way.
One facet of the activity book that I particularly enjoy is the task of coming up with creative names for the family member's skin colors. The book explains why skin takes on so many various color hues and then instructs the child to think of a name for their own tone. If I did this I would call my tone "lightly toasted white bread," because I am not pure white but a combination of paleness from my norwegian heritage and brown spots from my age and love of all things sunny in the summertime. My daughter's skin tone I would name "ivory cream" because it makes me think of soft and silky paleness with only a small amount of tint to it. My son of the heart is definitely "butterscotch lifesaver." He has a handsome toffee color hue which is striking with his dark hair and eyes.
Just as in the activity book, it is fun to come up with positive fun names for all the varied colors that each person has which is unique to them no matter the race or culture.
I hope that many parents and teachers of younger children choose to share, "Hues of You:An Activity Book for Learning About the Skin You Are In" with their students and families. I feel it is an important topic to talk and learn about, and Lucretia Carter Berry's book does an excellent job of making the reader enjoy the lesson and find creative ways to express their own individuality!
