The Blacker the Berry , by Joyce Carol Thomas is a beautiful collection of poems by an African American author. The pictures were of African American people and it was no wonder that this won a Coretta Scott King Medal for its illustrations and was also a Coretta Scott King Author Honor book. What a great book! My favorite poem in the collection was The Blacker the Berry.
Joyce Carol Thomas has written more than 30 books and several plays.
<http://www.joycecarolthomas.com>
Genre: Poetry, Multiculturalism
Theme/Skill: Students will learn and read about poetry from a multicultural perspective.
Grade Level: 2-6
Pre-reading Activity: Students will read read the poems of their choice from a collection of multicultural poetry books. They will discuss with a partner how they felt about these poems.
Post-reading Activity: Students will pick out a poem they liked best from The Blacker the Berry. They will write about what the poem meant to them and why they chose this poem in their writing journals.
