Joyce Thomas: Hi. My name is Joyce Carol Thomas and I'm the author of The Blacker the Berry. I wrote The Blacker the Berry because I wanted to honor all the handsome and beautiful colors of black boys and African American girls. The various colors of black children are as luminous to me as the rich variety of berries, blackberries, blueberries, loganberries, cranberries, lots of berries. When you read this collection, can you count how many berries there are in this lovey picture book illustrated by my friend, Floyd Cooper? Here is the title poem.

The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice. I am midnight and berries. I call the silver stars at dusk. By moonrise, they appear and we turn berries into nectar. Because I am dark, the moon and stars shine brighter. Because berries are dark, the juice is sweeter. Day could not dawn without the night. Colors without black, could not sparkle quite so bright. The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. I am midnight and berries.