Beautiful Blackbird Review by Dana G. Williams

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bryan, Ashley. Beautiful Blackbird. Atheneum Books for Young Readers: New York, 2003. ISBN 0689847319

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
In this version of a Zambian tale, there are many birds of many colors, but only one Blackbird. The colored birds envy Blackbird for his color and his individuality. The birds take a vote and agree that Blackbird is the most beautiful bird. In response to this vote, Ringdove asks Blackbird to share his color with him. When all of the other birds see Ringdove's new look, they too want to be painted. Blackbird obliges them all one day, but while he paints he tells them that what makes them beautiful can be found inside. In the end, each bird has an individual look and and sings a thank you to Blackbird for sharing his blackness with them. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Beautiful Blackbird incorporates so many of my favorite aspects of picture poetry books. First of all,  even without the illustrations, this book is fun to read and listen to. The ongoing singing in the book is repetitive and catchy. The songs the birds sing rhyme and their calls are easy to remember. They also allow for movement opportunities in the classroom while you read the book, particularly doing the "Show Claws Slide."

My second favorite aspect is the illustrations, which are pictures of torn paper and collage work that Ashley Bryan created. The colorful images jump off the page and the birds are in such a quantity and complexity of detail that Bryan did an amazing job of using them to illustrate not just the biology of birds, but the diversity of species at-large.

My third favorite aspect is the repeated concept that black is beautiful, but so is individuality. Often times in our social landscape American culture projects darkness as evil, but in Bryan's story, blackness is held up as ultimate goodness and beauty, not only because of the richness of his color, but also because when Blackbird spreads his wings, his blackness reflects all colors.

When Blackbird works his magic to help the other birds achieve their individualized look by sharing his blackness with them, it reminded me of a combination of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree and Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches. Blackbird doesn't ask for anything back, and he gives and gives as he tries to help each bird understand that what makes them special is who they are as an individual, not what their feathers look like. I grew worried the first time I read the book, that Blackbird would somehow run out of feathers to paint all of the birds, but nothing gruesome like that happens.

Beautiful Blackbird is a wonderful story to get younger kids thinking about why the world is the way it is. By using this African folktale from Zambia, children can think about why birds look so different. What makes them that way? But they can also apply that lesson to how they relate to each other in the community of the classroom and can internalize the ideals of self-love and self-acceptance that Bryan puts forth.

But isn't it nice to see a group of birds loving another bird for being different, rather than trying to force Blackbird to be like everyone else?

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, 2004

Texas 2x2 Reading List, 2004

From Booklist
"Using a more vivid palette than usual, Bryan employs body 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'." 

From Publisher's Weekly
"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."

5. CONNECTIONS
Other books by Ashley Bryan:

• All Things Bright and Beautiful. ISBN 9781416989394
• Can't Scare Me. ISBN 9781442476578
• Turtle Knows Your Name. ISBN 9780689315787

Other African Folktales for children: 

• Achebe, Chinua. How the Leopard Got His Claws. ISBN 9780823412327
• Alexander, Lloyd. The Fortune-Tellers. ISBN 9780140562330
• Bryan, Ashley. The Story of Lightning and Thunder. ISBN 9780689318368

As a student, I was often read traditional European fairytales and folktales. Then when fractured fairy tales began to become a norm, I was obsessed with them both as a teacher and as a mother. They were often witty and entertaining. But as my awareness as a teacher and a parent grew, I recognized how much of the world I was missing out on by not reading folktales from other cultures. It was true that some folktales are similar variants to the fairytales that I grew up on, but they shouldn't have to be to gain attention.

When I started introducing multicultural tales in the classroom interesting things happened, these tales sometimes dealt more with trying to explain something about the world, rather than passing on a moral lesson. Ashley Bryan has several picture poetry books that do this that are based on African and Caribbean tales. Those folktales on how the biological world came about really inspired several of my students to wonder and think about why how different species got to be how they are. Because of their young age, they weren't asking particulars, but they did begin to separate that the cat at home was similar in look and behavior, but very different than a wild panther and not just in size, color and ecosystem. Introducing African Folktales globalizes the reach of literature for a classroom. It reminds us that the world is a much bigger and older place than the country we reside in.

Activities with this book may include:

• Cutting out colorful birds and letting children put their own black designs on them. 
• Creating a play out of the book for children to perform using the songs.
• Cutting out poster board wings for children to decorate and wear to play outside or in the dress up area. 
• Taking a picture of each child and having the child recognize through righting or dictating to a teacher what they think makes them special.
• Tearing paper and making animal shape collages (open-ended art). 
• Learning about birds and other bird species through a field trip to a local nature center. 
• Investigating African culture, music and geography.