The watercolors are amazing, but the message is not very sophisticated. It is told from the viewpoint of Sister anne's white 2nd grade students. Sister Anne is a nun with dark skin (it is unclear how she identifies from the book) who is teaching in a white school in the 1960s. Anna is a white girl in her class, narrating the story. Sister Anne confronts the class with pictures of racial violence after someone flies an airplane into her with a racist poem. The class seems to shape up and respect the kind peaceful nun who gives them all a second chance. At the end, Anna gives her a card with her hand and Sister Anne's hand, and says she learned "now whenever I draw someone's hands-or big toes-I fill them in with browns and pinks and whites, reds and yellows and blues, polka dots, circles, and stripes." Problem #1: adding non-human 'polka-dots, circles, and stripes' dehumanizes the other colors. Problem #2: THAT'S what you took away from watching a woman struggle with your community's racism? Using all the colors in your oil pastel box? This one's going to the goodwill. ( )

Anna is excited to start second grade with her new teacher Sister Anne. Sister Anne makes every subject in school fun and Anna doesn't understand when people comment on her skin color or why parents decide to pull students from her class. Sister Anne makes a point to teach her student's the hardships black people face and the importance of being kind to all people. When the year is up and sister Anne has to go, Anna makes her a card that demonstrates how hatred and racism are taught, not inherent.

I loved this book and the message it portrayed. Even in today's society racism is still a prevalent issue that needs to be discussed and this book does a great job of doing so. It also has beautiful illustrations to accompany it. I would read this to my class. ( )

Anna is beginning second grade in the early 1960’s and surprised to see her new teacher is an African American nun. Although Anna exemplified how some people looked past the color of one’s skin, it also demonstrated how many did not.
This book would be great to read if teaching about racism and the Civil Rights movement.
The author portrays the topics of racism and discrimination in a gentle and sincere manner. During a time when people’s ignorance blinded them, this book is a warm reminder of the decency and compassion of the human spirit. The soft illustrations mimic the delicate tone of the text in such a lovely way. A sweet read that is sure to warm the heart. ( )

Anna is about to start second grade and she has a new teacher at the school who is going to be her teacher. Sister Anne is an African a American nun who is the new teacher at the school. Author, Marybeth Lorbiecki, does really well showing the innocence of a child’s mind and how they see the race of different people. Anna notices that Sister Anne is different than her, but she doesn’t see how her skin color is a bad thing until other children in the class write a mean note about her. The book is written in shot sentences, probably to keep the attention of young children who are reading the book. The book isn’t also from the perspective of Anna, and not told about Anna. Having the dialogue and thought process of a second grader in the book is an important part of the writers style, and truly shows the innocent mind of such a young child. At one point Anna says, “ Of her color? What color could she be? Purple? Green? Orange?” Just that quote shows you that children don’t judge people because of their race unless that is hw they were taught to act or personally saw people acting in that manner. ( )

This historical picture book takes place in the 60s when a black nun comes to teach at Anna’s school. Anna is seven years old, and cautious of the new teacher when she reaches out to touch her cheeks because her hands are “different.” Sister Ann was easy going, but she isn’t stone cold. When a student writes a racist remark on a note, Sister Ann is extremely hurt. She needs to think about how she will react, which makes Anna feel just terrible. Returning to school, Sister Ann has her students do a gallery walk of shocking photos of black people who were abused, harassed, hanged, shot, or dead. She asked the students to react and encouraged her students to open their hearts to people of color. This story was an emotional and powerful read. It teaches the reader how easy it is to be kind despite living in a cold world. Anna eventually begins drawing hands of all colors, finally accepting Sister Anne's “different” hands. ( )