Beautiful Blackbird

Bryan, Ashley. 2003. BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD. New York: Simon and Schuster.
ISBN-10: 0689847319

PLOT SUMMARY
Based on an old Zambian folktale Beautiful Blackbird tells the story of how the birds of Africa used to be many bright colors. The only bird that had any black on his feathers was the blackbird. He was thought to be the most beautiful of all the birds. Suddenly the ringdove wants to be black like beautiful blackbird. Soon after other birds want to have the color black on them so they too will be beautiful. Blackbird agrees to paint them black but, wants them to realize that it is not the color on the outside that makes them beautiful, it is what on the inside.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for illustrations in 2004, Beautiful Blackbird does a superb job of passing on the folktales of Africa. The rhythm of the text and chants in the book make this book an enjoyable read aloud. The Blackbirds message of “Color on the outside is not what’s on the inside. You don’t act like me. You don’t eat like me. You don’t get down in the groove and move your feet like me.” The folktales message is to be proud of who you are and embrace your culture. This self affirming message is one that is important to all races not only African-Americans.

Bryan’s paper collage cut outs are colorful and jump off the page at the reader. He overlaps many of the bird cutouts to make them seem 3-d. Each illustration has little background detail to take away from colorful birds. The double page illustrations were created with scissors that were his mothers. Readers can learn more about this at the end of the story in the authors note. Overall, the illustrations and text do a wonderful job sharing the message of it’s not what is on the outside that matters.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Publishers Weekly
Storyteller Bryan's (What a Wonderful World) singular voice provides rhythm and sound effects throughout this musical adaptation of a Zambian tale. When gray Ringdove calls the other monotone birds together and asks, "Who of all is the most beautiful?" they all reply, "Blackbird." They then encircle Blackbird, dancing and singing, "Beak to beak, peck, peck, peck,/ Spread your wings, stretch your neck./ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!/ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!" At the birds' request, Blackbird agrees to paint black markings on them (with the blackening brew in his medicine gourd), but he warns Ringdove that it's not the color black that will make them beautiful. "Color on the outside is not what's on the inside.....

School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-Because they haven't got a spot of black on their bodies, the colorful birds of Africa envy Blackbird. They extol his feathers that "gleam all colors in the sun" in their songs and dances. And although he assures them that "Color on the outside is not what's on the inside," he generously shares the blackening brew in his gourd

Reviews accessed at:
http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Blackbird-Coretta-Illustrator-Winner/dp/0689847319

CONNECTIONS
These websites contain additional material on Ashley Bryan as well as lesson plans for Beautiful Blackbird.
https://www.roundrockisd.org/docs/4-beautiful_blackbird.pdf

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/bryan.htm