Kirkus
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This vibrant, thoughtful book from Katz (Over the Moon, 1997) continues her tribute to her adopted daughter, Lena, born in Guatemala. Lena is ``seven. I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up''; she learns during a painting lesson that to get the color brown, she will have to ``mix red, yellow, black, and white paints.'' They go for a walk to observe the many shades of brown: they see Sonia, who is the color of creamy peanut butter; Isabella, who is chocolate brown; Lucy, both peachy and tan; Jo-Jin, the color of honey; Kyle, ``like leaves in fall''; Mr. Pellegrino, the color of pizza crust, golden brown. Lena realizes that every shade is beautiful, then mixes her paints accordingly for portraits of her friends'``The colors of us!'' Bold illustrations celebrate diversity with a child's open-hearted sensibility and a mother's love. (Picture book. 6-8)

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

After seven-year-old Lena claims that ""brown is brown,"" her mother, an artist, walks her around their diverse neighborhood to show her that brown skin, like Lena's own, comes in many shades. That afternoon, Lena paints her neighbors' portraits using ""delicious"" brown hues like cinnamon, chocolate, and honey. Mixed-media illustrations of these jazzy urbanites joyfully bring the message home. Reviewed by: ndb (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.