Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan

 

Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan

Bibliography:

Bryan, Ashley. 2003. Beautiful blackbird. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

ISBN: 9780689847318

Plot Summary: This is an African folktale about the birds of Africa. In the beginning, the birds are colorful and consist of all the colors of the rainbow. One day, the birds go to a festival in the forest. Here they see the blackbird, and think that it is the most beautiful bird because it “stands out best of all”. The birds dance and sing. However, they want to look just like the blackbird. The blackbird then brings his blackening medicine gourd and paints the birds with black.  

Critical Analysis: The African folktale Beautiful Blackbird is a colorful story about individuality and being yourself. The author draws the reader’s attention by using a bright and vibrant paper collage effect to tell the story of the beautiful blackbird. The overarching theme of the story is that all living creatures are unique and beautiful and that all living things should be proud of who they are, and where they come from. The blackbird shares his “blackness” with the other colorful birds with the premise that the “color on the outside is not what’s on the inside”. The blackbird “gives until it all gives out” and is able to color all of the birds with the black medicine gourd. The folktale is centered around the character of the blackbird, who like many folktale characters is unchanging throughout the story and represents the goodness that all people share. The tale takes place in a forest in Africa and relies on the theme of acceptance which runs rampant throughout the story. The tale also reflects the culture and identity of the African people. This folktale consumes the reader and exemplifies the aspect that true beauty comes from within.

Review Excerpts:

·         From Publishers Weekly - Storyteller Bryan's (What a Wonderful World) singular voice provides rhythm and sound effects throughout this musical adaptation of a Zambian tale. When gray Ringdove calls the other monotone birds together and asks, "Who of all is the most beautiful?" they all reply, "Blackbird." They then encircle Blackbird, dancing and singing, "Beak to beak, peck, peck, peck,/ Spread your wings, stretch your neck./ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!/ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!" At the birds' request, Blackbird agrees to paint black markings on them (with the blackening brew in his medicine gourd), but he warns Ringdove that it's not the color black that will make them beautiful. "Color on the outside is not what's on the inside..... Whatever I do/ I'll be me and you'll be you." The message about inner beauty and identity becomes somewhat diluted by the closing song, in which the birds triumphantly sing, "Our colors sport a brand-new look,/ A touch of black was all it took./ Oh beautiful black, uh-huh, uh-huh/ Black is beautiful, UH-HUH!" But if the ending creates a bit of confusion, Bryan's collages make up for it with their exhibition of colorful splendor and composition. Scenes of the rainbow of wings are outdone only by a lakeside view of their colors intricately "mirrored in the waters." And Bryan's lilting and magical language is infectious. Ages 3-7.

·         From School Library Journal - Kindergarten-Grade 2-Because they haven't got a spot of black on their bodies, the colorful birds of Africa envy Blackbird. They extol his feathers that "gleam all colors in the sun" in their songs and dances. And although he assures them that "Color on the outside is not what's on the inside," he generously shares the blackening brew in his gourd. First he adds a necklace of midnight to Ringdove, then markings of black to every feathered creature large and small, causing them to finally sing, "Oh beautiful black, uh-huh, uh-huh/Black is beautiful, UH-HUH!" Adapted from an Ila tale from Zambia, this story delivers a somewhat contradictory message. Blackbird frequently affirms that it's what's inside that counts but his avian friends are certainly fixated on adding some black to their feathered finery. The story line is simple and the rhythmic chants of the flock frequently interspersed throughout the text add drama and a rapper's cadence. The cut-paper silhouettes are colorful but static, effectuating a stylized formality. The endpapers include an image of the scissors used to create the collages and reinforce the physical process behind the art. This unusual and little-known pourquoi tale may supplement larger collections and serves as a thoughtful and entertaining addition to units on self-esteem. Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ

 

·     From Booklist - K-Gr. 2. In this simple adaptation of a tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia, the message is clear: "Black is beautiful." Once upon a time, Blackbird was the only bird of Africa who wasn't brightly colored. When Ringdove asks who is the most beautiful bird, the other birds name Blackbird. At Ringdove's request, Blackbird brings blackening from his medicine gourd to decorate Ringdove's colored neck; the other birds also want trimming, so Blackbird paints dots and brushes lines and arcs until his gourd is empty. Using a more vivid palette than usual, Bryan employs boldly colored, cut-paper artwork to dramatize the action. The overlapping collage images fill the pages with energy as the songlike responses of the birds tap out a rhythm punctuated with "uh-huhs." In an author's note, Bryan explains that the scissors pictured on the endpapers, which Bryan used to create the collages, were once also used by his mother. Ready-made for participative storytelling. Julie Cummins

Connections/Activities:

Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration - 2004

·         Students can read other African folktales and compare and contrast storylines.

·         Students can create a Reader’s Theater and act out the folktale.

·         Students can create their own blackbirds and decorate them.

·         Students can write their own folktale based off the book.

·         Students can discuss true beauty coming from within.

·         Select other texts by Ashley Bryan

o   Let it Shine - 978-0689847325

o   Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life’s Song - 978-1416905417

o   All Things Bright and Beautiful - 978-1416989394

o   The Night Has Ears: African Proverbs - 978-0689824272

o   Ashley Bryan’s African Tales, Uh-Huh - 978-0689820762

·         Related Texts

o   Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale by Verma Aadema and Leo Dillon -  978-0140549058

o   Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Harcourt School Publishers - 978-0805003116

o   Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott - 978-0152010102

Personal Connections: This is a great story to read when discussing folktales with students of all ages. It would be great to use in a unit over African folktales and comparing/contrasting different texts.