Sandra Pinkney, illustrated by Myles Pinkney,
I Am Latino: The Beauty in Me
Little, Brown, & Co., 2007.

Ages 3-6

I Am Latino: The Beauty in Me is written and photographed by a husband and wife team, Sandra and Myles Pinkney.  Written by Sandra, the book opens with: “Use your senses and you will see, there is beauty in everything.”  The book invites very young children to explore Latino culture by appealing to their five senses through sparse text and gorgeous and stimulating photographs.

Readers will enjoy learning about traditional Latino foods, such as tostones, empanadas, and tamales; popular dances – tango, salsa, and flamenco – and some everyday language, like buenos dias (good morning), adios (good-bye), and terms used to address family members.  The positive lines “I am Latino. Can you sense the beauty?” are repeated throughout the book and add a perfect dash of heritage pride to this thoughtful glimpse of Latino culture.

Children and adults of various Latino backgrounds are photographed in action in brightly-colored, uncluttered surroundings. Myles Pinkney's photographs are upbeat, capturing tremendous energy and emotion, and readers will indeed “sense the beauty” in the many different, smiley faces.

This award-winning team has written other books for children with a similar focus on strengthening racial identity, including Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children. Latino readers will take pleasure in seeing celebratory images of their diverse people and customs in I Am Latino and young children of all backgrounds will enjoy – imaginatively – this sensory exploration of beauty.