WHAT DOES BROWN MEAN TO YOU?

A young brown-skinned boy considers the many ways the color brown shows up in his life.

Benny wakes up, beginning his day while his brown dog, Percy, still sleeps. He heads to the kitchen, where he greets his brown father, who is mixing up pancakes. His brown grandparents greet Benny with a kiss as they drink coffee, creating a “lovely moment of bliss.” Outside, his mom picks “juicy tomatoes,” and he observes the brown soil. Benny feeds hay to Bess the brown cow and collects brown eggs. Next, he and Percy explore the outdoors—playing hide-and-seek, balancing on logs, and watching an approaching storm. Caught in the rain, Benny plays in the brown mud before going inside to dry off. With the day ahead gloomy, Benny paints a portrait of his brown family. Benny helps his mom in the kitchen as the family ends their day with dinner and dancing to the joyful songs of James Brown. Once in bed, Benny wonders, “What does Brown mean to you?” There is repetition and rhyme throughout this upbeat, encouraging tale as Benny describes how the color brown appears throughout his daily activities and the emotions that arise. Many scenes evoke readers’ senses as the boy and his family explore what brown means to them. Simple illustrations, created with pencil and finished digitally, in a neutral palette complement the text. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An affirming celebration of being brown.