K-Gr 2—To keep a child safe, do parents have to end childhood innocence? Williams confronts this topic head on,
exploring the pain of having the "talk" with young Black boys to help them navigate the existing evils of racism.
Heartfelt and heartbreaking, a necessary book.

Iwish we didn’t need books like this. But we do. This book is not just for Black and Brown people. It’s for all people.

It is possible that you’ve never heard of The Talk that Black and Brown families have with their children. If so, take a look at the video below where Trevor Noah does a good job of summarizing it on The Daily Show (I’ll wait).

Now that you’re back, let’s talk about this picturebook. It’s soul crushing.

Uchendu, in stunning, mournful illustrations that highlight a purple/beige/brown palette takes us through the life of Jay, a little boy we watch grow up into a young man. Together, Jay and his friends engage in the everyday activities that kids do; they hangout, run, and play. Uchendu captures the joy of everyday life as Jay interacts with his family–providing facial expressions that vividly transition as Jay gets older, from that happiness of young childhood, to the growing concern of the tween years. ( )

I liked this story, it has nice pictures and text, but nothing stands out for me. ( )

It is sad that a book like this has to be written at all. A book called "The Talk" but it has nothing to do with sex education. And has everything to do with the color of one's skin and the different treatment, the social constructs, and the constant living under a microscope.

The illustrations convey what words do not. Even the secondary illustrations of the TV with the news blurb, the white woman whispering to a policeman, the hands on the steering wheel....it was impactful.

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sadly, a book like this is needed ( )