Initial Impressions

               Just by reading the back cover of The Color of Water, I think that it’s about a boy who would always wonder if his mother and he were white or black. Since his mother never gave him an exact answer when he was younger, he might have not learned how to appreciate people of different colors.  I chose this book because the title caught my attention. I wanted to find out what James McBride meant by “The Color of Water.” I wanted to explore its deeper meaning to see what is really meant. At first when my teacher was going through all the books and she started talking about The Color of Water, I thought it was going to be about an African American boy who had to struggle with being made fun of because he has a white mother. After reading this book I think that it would also make me appreciate my background more and all colors of people because we are all one. Also, based on the back cover, I think the boy’s mom wanted to protect her son from thinking he was different because he is bi- racial. She probably wanted him to focus on his life and education rather than the color of his skin. I think that later on in the book the boy will learn that he is bi- racial and thank his mother for not telling him because he would've been concerned that he wasn’t the same as everyone else living in Brooklyn. The boy can now appreciate other people of color and realize that no matter what color you are, you are still human.