Black Magic

PreS-K A smiling little girl with "a hundred black braids" that "make a spiderweb around my head" guides young readers through the world of magical possibilities found in the color black. For example, black can be loud, like "my best tap shoes making happy noise," or it can be "quiet like a butterfly." Such passages can help introduce toddlers to opposites. Moreover, the vivid descriptions of black will enrich children's vocabulary by introducing them to similes for this color. Black can be "delicious like chocolate," or "silky like my puppy, Ebony." These early literacy concepts are conveyed in short, snappy lines of text that make the book an outstanding choice for preschool storytimes. The African-American children in Christie's illustrations have a variety of hairstyles and skin tones and are shown playing with children of other races. The bright acrylic colors capture the energy of childhood, and the artist's bold, loose brushstrokes further underscore the dynamic nature of the text, and of the little girl who narrates it."Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.