If Dominican Were a Color
Written by Sili Recio and
illustrated by Brianna McCarthy
Denene Millner Books, Simon &
Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020
“If Dominican Were a Color” is a gorgeous picture book about the colors
of the Dominican Republic. The author says her goal in writing the book is to encourage
black children to love the color of their skin no matter what shade it is.
The story is told in lyrical, rhyming prose. “If Dominican were a color…”
it begins.
“It would be the sunset in the sky, blazing red and burning bright.
The shade of cinnamon in your cocoa, the drums beating so fast, they drive
you loco.”
The author Sili Recio goes on to list her grandma’s mahogany skin and her
other grandma’s yellow tint, shades of orange in the sunrise, deep green tints
of palm trees, and neutral browns of lips and café con leche. Later, she refers
to the curls and kinks of her hair, the blue-black of dreams, and all the
seasons of the year.
She also makes more poetic references
to the color of swaying hips, neighbors’ chatter, a Dominican accent, games of
hopscotch and jacks, and the roar of the ocean in the deep of night.
She includes several Spanish words in italics, maiz (corn) and amarillo
(yellow).
Brianna McCarthy’s mixed media illustrations are stunning in their bold
use of color to portray the beauty of the Dominican people and their land. “The lush foliage, the impossibly
blue skies, and the otherworldly pinks and oranges spring off the page with joy
and verve," writes a Kirkus reviewer.
Just as Recio mentions her grandmothers’ different skin tones in the text,
McCarthy depicts Dominican people in all shades from white to all hues of
brown.
In the author’s note at the back of the book, Recio writes that she grew
up in the Dominican Republic surrounded by family and friends in all tones of
brown. She was showered with love and taught to love herself and “appreciate
the skin she was in.”
She and her mother are both “java,” she writes, a term used on the island
to describe people with light-colored skin and black features. Her father and
sisters are as dark as Embajador chocolate, a Dominican brand of dark chocolate.
As children, she and her sisters thought all of their skin colors were
beautiful.
But as she grew up, she learned that others thought it was better to have
lighter skin and insulted those with darker skin. She found this prejudice in
her native country and after she moved to the United States.
Recio says she wrote this book “for the little boys and girls who felt as
if they did not belong because of their dark complexions or curly hair texture
or the width of their noses,” she writes. “This is for those who’ve been told
they are ugly simply because they wear their African ancestors’ beauty on their
faces and in their hair.”
“If Dominican Were a Color” is published by Denene Millner Books, a new
imprint of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. The imprint, which
launched in the spring of 2020, is directed by Denene Millner, an award-winning
journalist and bestselling Afro-American author. The imprint publishes books by
African American authors for readers of all ages.
About the Author
Sili Recio is an
Afro-Dominican storyteller. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from
Rollins College. She lives in Florida with her daughter, whose nickname is the
Frog Princess. This is her first picture book. Visit her at SiliRecio.com.
About the Illustrator
Brianna McCarthy is a mixed
media visual communicator and self-taught artist interested in the issues of
beauty, stereotypes, and representation. She works in masking and performance
art, fabric collage, traditional media, and installation pieces. She lives in
Trinidad and Tobago. This is her debut picture book. Visit her at BriannaMcCarthy.com.