This book is called “I’m A Pretty Little Black Girl!”, by Betty K. Bynum. Illustrations by, Claire Armstrong Parod. The book was Published in 2013.
"I'm A Pretty Little Black Girl!" is about a young African American girl who is energetic, confident and loves the company of her friends. In the book she describes the color of each and every one of her friend’s skin in beautiful detail "and like a special rainbow" (Bynum, 2013) they are all "different shades of brown." (Bynum, 2013)
This story is well written, interesting and engaging. The story is easy for young readers to understand and the message is easily received.
The young girls in this book are depicted as individuals not as stereotypical African American characters. I found that the characters lifestyles are not generalized but typical lives of young girls.
The most important aspect in this book is that the young African American girls being portrayed, have high self-esteem and have confidence in themselves.
The main character, Mia holds the power in the story with a confident attitude and a positive self-image. Even though she says her hair is, "just-a-going every which-a-ways" (Bynum, 2013), she stills looks in the mirror every morning and yells, "I'm a Pretty Little Black Girl!" (Bynum, 2013)
The author uses rhyming and she uses colorful description's to illustrate Mia and her friends. For example, she uses imagery such as, the milk in coffee, the color of a pecan, the color of sprinkling cinnamon, toffee and sweet dark chocolate cream to describe each girl.
The artistic elements used show happy, self-assured, beautiful young girls enjoying their time together.
Bynum is an actress, writer, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. "She created the I'm A Girl collection out of her passion and love and her intense tenacity for girls of all colors to celebrate their individual and special beauty."(Heller, 2013, para. 1) Parod, the illustrator, "is an award winning designer, animator and director for film, television, and commercials." (Heller, 2013, para. 3) Although I was unable to find a picture of Parod, Bynum is herself African American. This makes her inside the group she is presenting.
This book is clearly written for African American girls and they are the only group represented in this book. This book is portraying that no matter what shade, shape or size, all African American girls are pretty, smart, and capable of achieving any dreams they may have.
I would recommend this book to African American families with young daughters. I do not think that this would be appropriate for young girls of other races (although she does offer other books that young girls of other races can relate to), but I do think that this book send a wonderfully positive message to young African American girls.
Bynum, Betty K. (2013). I'm A Pretty Little Black Girl!. Los Angeles, CA: DreamTitle Publishing.
Heller, Phyllis. (October, 2013). The I'm A Girl Collecting. Retrieved from http://theimagirlcollection.com/index.php#
