©DON TATE
ILLUSTRATION
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Black All Around!
Author: Patricia Hubbell
Published: April 2003
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
REVIEWS
How many things can you think of that are black? Black is everwhere. Black is all around us! In this book, a young girl observes the many things around her that are the color black.
My goal in illustrating this book was to highlight the color black by contrasting it with bright colors. The color black so often is used to communicate negativity, mourning, fear or the occult. In BLACK ALL AROUND! It was important that I counteract these negative images by using black to communicate the feelings of comfort, happiness, excitement, warmth, and adventure. After reading BLACK ALL AROUND! I hope that young readers who may already identify black as negative will rediscover their world filled with the many wonderful things in it that are black.
"An African American girl (who looks a lot like a young Oprah) wanders through her world and finds many wonderful things in black: the night sky, the inside of a pocket ("where surprises hide"), beetles, tuxedoes, the letters on the page of a book. And most of all, "Velvet soft / satin sleek. Daddy's arm. / Momma's cheek." Each page brings a bundle of new objects and ideas about the depth and beauty of darkness. The acrylic paintings are fresh and fanciful, full of interesting perspectives: the girl reaches her hand deep into a blue-black lake as fish glide by; she falls asleep in a comfy chair, dreaming of flying off in a rocket ship. The logical question for children alone or in a group: How many things can you think of that are black?"
-BOOKLIST
-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
-KIRKUS REVIEWS
-SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
-BLACK ISSUES BOOK REVIEW
-Austin American Statesman
"Verse and pictures introduce an array of black items ranging from the tangible ("A big workhorse/ Some cats, of course./ Glossy beetles./ Busy ants./ The clothes men wear to a fancy dance") to the ethereal ("Like the back of a dream of stars and moon/ that floats through your head on an afternoon/ when you take a nap in a big old chair") to the personal ("Velvet soft./ Satin sleek. / Daddy's arm./ Momma's cheek"). The black objects stand out sharply against Tate's (Summer Sun Risin) brassy palette. In addition to the high-voltage colors, Tate also stylizes his perspectives and his figures. Heads are outsize, almost as large as the torsos, and the eyes are so wide apart as to triangulate each face. The artist does a good job varying the settings, supplying both fantasy and homelike backdrops that incorporate the images from the text. The closing pages show the girl cozy in her bed, with many of the aforementioned items wafting through her dreams."
"This earnest story told in rhyme focuses on things that are black in color, as seen through the eyes of a little African-American girl. Tate's acrylic paintings flow across double-page spreads, filled with swirling lines, varied perspectives, and neon bright shades to balance out the black items under discussion."
"Exuberant acrylic paintings keep the pages turning in this African American girl's imaginative ode to the color black. . .The double-page illustrations combine imaginary scenes with more realistic moments, and show the child interacting with her brother and her parents. The story-time crowd will enjoy the dreamy artwork and playful text. The heroine's peaceful slumber at the story's end also makes for a comforting bedtime read. A satisfying addition."
" 'Look high, look low, look everywhere...the beautiful color black is there!' A little girl goes off on a visual adventure and discovers the rich color black in everything from 'the back of a dream of stars and moon' to 'Velvet soft. Satin Sleek. Daddy's arm. Momma's cheek.' Told in rhyme, Black All Around is a picture book saturated with color that contrasts nicely with the darker tonalities, reminding children of the beauty and prominence of black."
"Innovative, perspective-rich paintings from American-Statesman illustrator Tate magnify the delight this book brings to kids 4-8."
