Reviewed by Madisyn Myers
Review Source: Reading Is Resistance
Book Author: Marguerite W. Davol
Black, White, Just Right!, written by Marguerite Davol and illustrated by Irene Trivas, tells the story of an interracial couple and their young daughter. The story shows the many differences between the young girl’s African American mother and white father and how she has been granted the gift of sharing a mixture of traits from them, whether it be her hair, tan skin, or taste in food.
Acceptance is a major key within this story, including how diversity positively impacts families and welcomes them to discover things they wouldn’t have otherwise explored. From enjoying modern art to going through museums of African masks, a wide range of activities are shown throughout the book, which displays how differences widen our horizons. Their differences bring them together and make their biracial family “just right.”
While told through the eyes of a young mixed girl, this fictional story was written by Davol, a white woman who wrote this book with her mixed grandchildren in mind. In the back of the book, Davol dedicates this story to her grandchildren and includes a photo of her with them. The book is affirming, honest, age appropriate, and read-me-again interesting.
Black, White, Just Right! by Marguerite W. Davol
Published by Albert Whitman & Company on January 1, 1993
Genres: Racial Identity
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Grade K, Grades 1-2
ISBN: 9780807507865
Review Source: Reading Is Resistance
Publishers Synopsis: This simple story celebrates how the differences between one mother and father blend to make the perfect combination in their daughter.
As this little family moves through the world, the girl notes some of the ways that her parents are different from each other, and how she is different from both of them. With each difference she lists, she highlights the ways that their individual characteristics join together to make her family. The fact that her mother is African American and her father is white is just one of the many interesting things that make this little girl and her family "just right."
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