BIBLIOGRAPHYBryan, Ashley. 2003. BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
ISBN-10: 0689847319 ISBN-13: 978-0689847318
PLOT SUMMARY
This is an adaption of a Zambian tale from the lla-speaking people. All the birds of Africa were brightly colored expect Blackbird. He was voted the most beautiful bird by his peers. Ringdove asks Blackbird to color her black also because her neck is plain. Blackbird mixes up his brew in the medicine gourd and gives Ringdove a ring around her neck. All the other birds want some blacking on them also. The fun begins with songs, dancing and painting black trim, dots and lines on the other birds. Lots of fun!
CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDLING CULTURAL MARKERS)
The theme of this story is “Black is Beautiful”. Ringdove coos to all the birds, “Who of all is the most beautiful?”(Bryan, p. 7) The birds sing their response:
“Blackbird stands out best of all.
Blackbird is the most beautiful.
His feathers gleam all colors in the sun.
Blackbird is the most beautiful one.”
(Bryan, p. 7)
Ringdove wants some of Blackbird’s beauty and asks him to color her black also. Blackbird delivers the message of the book that beauty is not on the outside, but what is on the inside. This is an excellent teaching moment using these beautiful pictures of birds to reinforce how everyone is beautiful regardless of how you look.
I did not see many cultural markers with the features of the birds except for the array of colors and there only being one blackbird. The black markings added to each bird by Blackbird are indications of African tribal art. The other cultural marker was when Blackbird’s 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.”, showing a difference between him and the other birds. I know that the theme is “Black is Beautiful” which is shown in the other birds wanting to be the most beautiful and are willing to change who they were to be like Blackbird. The message the folktale is conveying is to be proud of who you are and where you are from. This is so important for all cultures to embrace and embody their heritage, while respecting other cultures. Beauty is not what you look like on the outside, but who you are on the inside.
Ashley Bryan is not only a talented writer, but an accomplished illustrator. The illustrations are rendered in paper collage. The author notes that the scissors shown on the endpapers are the scissors that his mother used in her sewing and embroidery and that he, in turn, used in cutting the paper for the collages in this book. A wonderful tribute to his mother as she also became a part of her son’s book.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
From 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..... Whatever I do/ I'll be me and you'll be you." The message about inner beauty and identity becomes somewhat diluted by the closing song, in which the birds triumphantly sing, "Our colors sport a brand-new look,/ A touch of black was all it took./ Oh beautiful black, uh-huh, uh-huh/ Black is beautiful, UH-HUH!" But if the ending creates a bit of confusion, Bryan's collages make up for it with their exhibition of colorful splendor and composition. Scenes of the rainbow of wings are outdone only by a lakeside view of their colors intricately "mirrored in the waters." And Bryan's lilting and magical language is infectious. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From 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. First he adds a necklace of midnight to Ringdove, then markings of black to every feathered creature large and small, causing them to finally sing, "Oh beautiful black, uh-huh, uh-huh/Black is beautiful, UH-HUH!" Adapted from an Ila tale from Zambia, this story delivers a somewhat contradictory message. Blackbird frequently affirms that it's what's inside that counts but his avian friends are certainly fixated on adding some black to their feathered finery. The story line is simple and the rhythmic chants of the flock frequently interspersed throughout the text add drama and a rapper's cadence. The cut-paper silhouettes are colorful but static, effectuating a stylized formality. The endpapers include an image of the scissors used to create the collages and reinforce the physical process behind the art. This unusual and little-known pourquoi tale may supplement larger collections and serves as a thoughtful and entertaining addition to units on self-esteem.
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 2. In this simple adaptation of a tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia, the message is clear: "Black is beautiful." Once upon a time, Blackbird was the only bird of Africa who wasn't brightly colored. When Ringdove asks who is the most beautiful bird, the other birds name Blackbird. At Ringdove's request, Blackbird brings blackening from his medicine gourd to decorate Ringdove's colored neck; the other birds also want trimming, so Blackbird paints dots and brushes lines and arcs until his gourd is empty. Using a more vivid palette than usual, Bryan employs boldly colored, cut-paper artwork to dramatize the action. The overlapping collage images fill the pages with energy as the songlike responses of the birds tap out a rhythm punctuated with "uh-huhs." In an author's note, Bryan explains that the scissors pictured on the endpapers, which Bryan used to create the collages, were once also used by his mother. Ready-made for participative storytelling. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
AWARDS/HONORS
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner
CONNECTIONS
This is a great introduction to folktales and discussing how they all tell a message. Using a map the children will locate Zambia, Africa. Learning about the children and their culture and comparing it to the cultures in America. What are the differences and how are we alike. The children will take a cutout bird and design it for how they feel while adding something about their cultural heritage. Each child will then add a message they would like their classmates to know about their picture. All the pictures will then be combined to form a classroom book.
Other books by Ashley Bryan
The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales. New York: Atheneum, 1971.
The Adventures of Aku; or, How it Came About that We Shall Always See Okra the Cat Lying on a Velvet Cushion while Okraman the Dog Sleeps Among the Ashes. New York: Atheneum, 1976.
The Dancing Granny. New York: Macmillan, 1977.
Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum. New York: Atheneum, 1980.
The Cat’s Purr. New York: Atheneum, 1985.
Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Folk Tales. New York: Atheneum, 1986.
All Night, All Day. New York: Atheneum, 1988.
Ashley Bryan’s African Tales. Uh-Huh. New York: Atheneum, 1998.
African Folklore Stories
Sneeds, B. Beaks. Charlesbridge Publishing, 2002.
Sayre. April Pulley. Hungry Hummingbird. Millbrook Press, 2001.
Morgan, Sally. Ducks and Other Birds. Chrysalis Education, 2001.
Tveten, John L. Birds of Texas. Shearer Publishing, 1993.
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