Tan to Tamarind

Tan to Tamarind: Poems about the color brown

By Malathi Michelle Iyengar

Illustrated by Jamel Akib

Children's Book Press, 2009

30 pages 

Poetry

Tan to Tamarind is a collection of poems about the color brown. It emphasizes all the beautiful, tasty, and valuable things that are brown. It also tells of people from across the world who are different shades of brown. It was written by a young woman who grew up hating the color brown because she was teased. As she grew she discovered all the wonderful things and people that are brown and wrote a poetry book about them. As you read through the poems you can feel her deep love a appreciation of the many shades of brown. My favorite is Adobe, a poem about a grandmother treating a little boys wounds. " Grandmother...Her strong adobe hands look like the desert rocks, but her fingertips are soft as chamomile flowers."

The illustrations in this book truly emphasize the words in the poem. The paintings reflect all the beautiful shades of brown while capturing the beauty of the different cultures. From scenic landscapes to festive parties, Akib captures the beauty, variety , and excitement of the many shades of brown.

This book is a great collection when discussing different cultures. It mentions food and lifestyles of people across the globe while also depicting the natural setting of the people. It would also be useful when discussing many shades of a color and the words that describe them. Each poem is given the title of a different shade of brown, i.e. Sepia, Ocher, and Sandalwood. I would definitely use this book when using adjectives. Iyengar is very descriptive and uses lots adjectives in her poems. This book could also be used when teaching about metaphors and similes.