Emily Cook (Children's Literature)
Black is Brown is Tan" is a beautifully written poem by Arnold Adoff. First published in 1973, this delightful story marked the first acknowledgment of an interracial family in children's book publishing. With an African American mother, the skin color of chocolate, and a Caucasian father, who's skin is not white, but light in color with tans and pinks and all the colors of the rainbow, this story blends colors in such a way that the beauty of this family truly shines through. The two children, one light, one darker, exude the beauty of both parents. This book comes a long way in making a point of the unimportance of skin color. Right on the first page, the author says "black is brown is tan, is girl, is boy, is nose, is face." Skin is merely one of many descriptive elements of a person, an individual; and the author is like a composer with his descriptions. Their utter happiness and the comfort of their daily routine are no different from any other family. It is a joyous occasion to see a book that shows such wonderful harmony and acceptance in the hopes that it will bring those feelings to those who read it. A delightful book, well worth reading with your children in the hopes that they, too, will see color as merely that. 2002 (orig. 1973), HarperCollins Publishers, $15.95. Ages 4 to 8.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2003)
Arnold Adoff's groundbreaking picture book about an interracial (African American/white) family has been completely reillustrated in a larger format by Emily Arnold McCully, the book's original illustrator. Although Adoff's love poem to his multiracial family has continued to resonate since its first publication in1973, McCully's original illustrations had dated, so this new edition is especially welcome. CCBC categories: New Edition Of Old Favorites; Poetry. 2002, Amistad / HarperCollins, 32 pages, $15.95. Ages 3-7.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 6))
The author and illustrator of this groundbreaking 1973 portrait of an interracial family (Adoff and his wife, the late Virginia Hamilton, were the models) reunite for this updated overhaul. "Black is brown is tan / is girl is boy / is nose is / face / is all / the / colors / of the race . . ." Two children reflect on brown and white as they cover a daily domestic round, from jumping into the parental bed in the morning to "singing songs / in / singing night" on a moonlit porch, conveying in each verse a consciousness of color, but a far stronger sense of family closeness. The illustrations follow suit, showing the children with parents, grandparents, and relatives, working, playing, being together. And just as Adoff has reshaped the lines without changing the words, so McCully has plainly worked from her originals in placing and posing her figures, though the pictures are redone in a larger size, the family lives in a different house with modern details, and the father is now blond. As the number of interracial families goes up but their representation in picture books remains vanishingly slight, this fresh rendition still makes a cogent statement. 2002, HarperCollins, $15.95. Category: Picture book/poetry. Ages 4 to 7. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2002)
McCully has completely redesigned and re-illustrated this new edition, and it both gains and loses in the process. The size of the book has almost doubled, so that the intimate feeling of the text is less apparent, but the full-color paintings of an interracial family going about its daily business are warm and joyful. Category: Picture Books. 2002 (orig. 1973), HarperCollins, 40pp, $15.95, $15.89. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.