Beautiful Blackbird
Hardcover – Picture Book, January 1, 2003
Atheneum Books for Young Readers · Hardcover · January 1, 2003
A tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia gets new life in this picture book adaptation from Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan about appreciating one’s heritage and discovering the beauty within.
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- Who it’s for
- An Ila-speaking Zambian tale pairs a clear message about heritage with vivid bird imagery.
- Themes
- Heritage, Inner beauty, Beauty standards
- Genres
- African Myths & Legends, Bird Stories, Country & Ethnic Folktales
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia gets new life in this picture book adaptation from Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan about appreciating one’s heritage and discovering the beauty within. Black is beautiful, uh-huh! Long ago, Blackbird was voted the most beautiful bird in the forest.
Continue reading
The other birds, who were colored red, yellow, blue, and green, were so envious that they begged Blackbird to paint their feathers with a touch of black so they could be beautiful too. Although Black-bird warns them that true beauty comes from within, the other birds persist and soon each is given a ring of black around their neck or a dot of black on their wings—markings that detail birds to this very day.
Beauty Within
An Ila-speaking Zambian tale pairs a clear message about heritage with vivid bird imagery.
Come here for
- A picture-book take on appreciating heritage
- The bright contrast of colorful feathers and black markings
Expect
- A direct, accessible telling
- A gentle reminder that beauty comes from within
Where it sits
| African Myths & Legends | 85% |
|---|---|
| Bird Stories | 63% |
| Country & Ethnic Folktales | 37% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Bird Stories
- US: African American Stories
- Fairy Tales & Folklore
- Authors
- Ashley Bryan
- Publisher
- Atheneum Books for Young Readers
- Published
- January 1, 2003
- Format
- Hardcover
- Theme
- Heritage · Inner beauty · Beauty standards
- Reading lane
- Bird Stories