Color Me Dark Explained
Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North is a 2000 book by Patricia McKissack about a girl, Nellie, who from 1919 records her thoughts and experiences in a diary including her home in rural Tennessee, as a part of The Great Migration, and her new home in Chicago. It is part of the Dear America book series.
Reception
School Library Journal, in a review of Color Me Dark, wrote "McKissack deftly explores the social unrest between blacks and whites and the social stratification within the black community, where newly arrived southern blacks were looked down upon by the more affluent residents."[1]
Voice of Youth Advocates commended the Dear America format and wrote "McKissack has written a story about a family whose strength and solidarity will touch readers, regardless of their cultural or ethnic backgrounds. The author's notes and illustrations additionally serve as an excellent introduction not only to the civil rights movement but also to the lives and works of prominent African Americans."[2]
Color Me Dark has also been reviewed by The Horn Book Magazine,[3] Kirkus Reviews,[4] and Booklist.[5]
Awards
- 1999-2001 NCTE Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6 book[6]
- 2001 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People[7]
- 2002 Indian Paintbrush Book Award - nominee[8]
- 2017 National African American Read-In Supplemental List for Young Children book[9]
Notes and References
- Web site: Color me dark : the diary of Nellie Lee Love, the great migration North . Buffalo and Erie County Public Library . March 13, 2017 . September 6, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150906223906/http://www.buffalolib.org/vufind/Record/1055349/Reviews#tabnav . dead .
- Web site: Color me dark : the diary of Nellie Lee Love, the great migration North: Reviews . catalog.wccls.org . March 13, 2017.
- Book: Color Me Dark . McKissack skillfully captures the realities of the Great Migration and how it helped to establish Chicago as a center of black culture and achievement. . kcls.bibliocommons.com . 9780590511599 . March 13, 2017. McKissack . Pat . 2000 . Scholastic .
- Web site: Color Me Dark . It’s an inspiring story, and one that brings to life the great black migration of that era from the south to the cities of the north. This part of American history is too often glossed over in textbooks, but must be understood in the context of modern race relations. . May 1, 2000 . Kirkus Media LLC . March 13, 2017.
- February 2000 . Books for Youth: Books for Middle Readers . Booklist . American Library Association . 96 . 12 . 1113 . March 13, 2017.
- Book: Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, Historical Fiction . 65 . Amy A. McClure and Janice V. Kristo (editors) . 2002 . National Council of Teachers of English . March 13, 2017.
- 2001 . Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2001: History, Life and Culture in the Americas . Social Education (Supplement) . National Council for the Social Studies . 9 . March 13, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160429222140/http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/notable2001_0.pdf . April 29, 2016 . dead .
- Web site: Indian Paintbrush Book Award - By Year . J Berentson . ccgov.net . Wyoming Library Association . March 13, 2017.
- Web site: National African American Read-In Sponsored by the Black Caucus of NCTE/4Cs: Supplemental List for Young Children, Recommended by Black Caucus Members . Sandra E. Gibbs (compiler) . ncte.org . National Council of Teachers of English . March 13, 2017.
