Richard Henderson's First Sail is more than a warmly illustrated picturebook. It is an educational adventure, written to teach young folks how to safely ride a boat out on the waves. Every single page spread has an important selection of facts, vocabulary, knots, or sailing techniques, all with diagrams, all crucial for a brand new sailor just starting out. In fact, most adults will find a fascinating wealth of brand new information, unless they've been sailing for so long they know what beating to windward is, or the difference between a bowline and a fisherman's bend knot. With splendid illustrations by Jennifer Heyd Wharton throughout, the story itself is a sailing adventure that incorporates all the things and techniques of sailing shown in the sidebars. Very highly recommended.

After years of reading sing-song, and sometimes trite children's poetry to my two children, Henderson's "In the Middle of the Night" was a wonderful surprise. Her poetry is not sing-song, and yet her eloquent verse sings a lullabye that has charmed both the children and the adults in my house. Henderson's observations are at once concise and beautiful, creating a glimpse into the nightlife of office cleaners, bakers, and parents (to name a few) whose reality is powerful. Anyone who wishes to introduce thier children to truly good poetry should give this book a try.

I can attest (both professionally and personally) to the many obstacles parents of color face in raising healthy children. The reallity is that there are specific challenges parents of color face in nurturing and guiding our children on a path to success that mainstream children's books simply do not address. Call Me Black Call Me Beautiful makes a vital contribution to children's literature and is an effort that is long overdue.

"Well, honey, you are black." Richard looks down at his hands and arms and says matter-of-factly, "No I'm not. I'm brown."

The social construct of race is a concept ambiguous to many adults, and can be incomprehensible to young children, particularly those of color. Able to accurately identify the Crayola colors in their environment, African American youth are often bewildered when their own chestnut/walnut/pecan/ebony/beige/mahogany/red skin tones are universally referred to as "black". And in a society that typically assigns negative connotations to the word "black", racial identity becomes even more problematic.

Call me Black Call me Beautiful addresses the question of racial identity through Richard, a young African American boy. As the story begins, Richard is portrayed as a happy child with a multiethnic array of peers, both on the soccer field and in the classroom. When Richard's demeanor turns sullen, his concerned mother prods her son for an explanation. It is then that Richard reveals that a white friend, Max, has called him "black", a label perplexing to Richard as he stares at his hands and arms, which are clearly brown to him.

In simple yet poignant terms, Richard's mother first affirms her son's observations: "You are my caramel brown baby, Daddy is smooth, dark chocolate brown, and I am honey brown." She then explains that "black" and "white" are merely terms to describe groups of people. The story's themes of self love and appreciation for others resound in the mother's advice to Richard: "So the next time Max calls you black, smile at him with joy. Explain to him that despite your different skin colors, you are both absolutely beautiful!"

Central to the story are Jennifer C. Kindert's bold and colorful watercolor illustrations. The characters' skin tones and facial and body features capture the wide array physical characteristics within the African American family. Also captured visually is the ambiguity of race. Indeed, white Max's beige skin tone and facial features closely resemble those of Richard's black great-grandmother, Dorothy. Detailed and synchronized to the plot, the illustrations compliment the text both nicely and appropriately.

Children of all ages will benefit from this book, as will parents, teachers, and librarians. The straightforward and conversational writing style allows for easy understanding by all readers. Call Me Black Call Me Beautiful fills a much-needed place in multicultural children's literature. Dr. Henderson translates potentially difficult concepts in a style that is simple and joyful.

Highly recommended for day-care centers and early-learning centers for story-time. Very helpful to all children especially bi-racial and foreign nationals. Also a great start for the younger children--they understand everything!!!
Dr. Henderson..... "you go, girl"

"Pagen" [sic] is misspelled in the Beowulf introduction. Henry II is described in the introduction as having ruled from 1154 to 1177, when in actuality, he ruled until his death in 1189. The more I read, the less I trust what I'm reading. I recommend M. H. Abrams' Norton anthology instead.

otherwise its a great collection of texts. 3 books too.

This is an excellent anthology, with generous selections, lively introductions, and beautifully reproduced color plates. Though published on "bible paper," there is very little bleed-through. It is an splendid alternative to the Norton Anthology, not only for its ample contexts sections and for its loving attention to both canonical and new writers (especially women writers of the Renaissance), but also for its favoring of complete works--More's Utopia, Sidney's Apology, etc. I've been using IB this semester, and though there are, as the (I think excessively) negative reviewer notes below, occasional errors, these are not unusual in massive endeavors. An old game in the 1950s used to be to send grad students in search of errors and typos in the standard literary critical books of the day. I'm sure these will be cleaned up. For now the book works especially well for "survey" courses and for upper-level, specialized courses, when supplemented by another paperback or two, or course packets.