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Read On! Fort Collins 2006: Color of Water

 

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (1996) by James McBride was chosen as the book that Fort Collins read in spring 2006. There was a variety of community events in the city which included a visit by James McBride to Fort Collins. This Web page has information (and links to information) about The Color of Water.

"As a boy in Brooklyn’s Red Hook projects, James McBride knew his mother was different. But when he asked about it, she’d simply say, “I’m light-skinned.” Later, he wondered if he was different, too, and asked his mother whether he was black or white. “You’re a human being,” she snapped. “Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!” And, when James asked what color God was, she said, “God is the color of water.”… As an adult, McBride finally persuaded his mother to tell her story - the story of a rabbi’s daughter, born in Poland and raised in the South, who fled to Harlem, married a black man, founded a Baptist church, and put twelve children through college. The Color of Water is James McBride’s tribute to his remarkable, eccentric, determined mother - and an eloquent exploration of what family really means." (This summary is from the Free Library of Philadelphia.)

Locate Citations and Full Text Articles via the Databases Page (CSU affiliates)

Note: The number of entries in the listed indexes/databases is from October 2005.

  • Book Review Index Plus has 27 entries for this book (22 as Color of Water and 5 under the complete title). There are 4 reviews of the audio version.
  • Academic Search Premier has 30 entries with this book as a subject. (PS "COLOR of Water, The (Book)") Note: the copy of the book in a series in the New York Times as listed in the database is not available online (in spite of LexisNexis Academic SFX link).
  • Ethnic News Watch has 55 full text entries that mention this book. There are 59 documents overall that mention it. (Do a search in Citation and Document text [the default] for Color of Water and McBride.)
  • JSTOR has 10 entries with "Color of Water" as exact phrase and "James McBride" in all of these words.
  • LexisNexis Academic has 197 articles with step 1 General News, step 2 Major Papers, step 3 Color of Water and James McBride, step 4 previous10 years (change the drop box in step 4). Change the second or third drop box in step 3 to "AND NOT" paperback, and search results are 68 entries. Step 1 General News, step 2 Magazines and Journals step 3 Color of Water and James McBride, step 4 previous 10 years results in 11 articles. Step 1 Arts & Sport News, step 2 Book, movie, music & play reviews, (etc.) brings up 120 articles, most listing the book as a best seller. Add AND NOT "best sellers" to bring up 9 articles. There are articles about the author and his book in at least one other LexisNexis Academic category.
  • MLA Bibliography has entries 3 with this book as a subject.
  • ArticleFirst has 2 entries that mention this book. (Do a keyword search for Color of Water and McBride.)
  • Humanities Abstract has 1 entry about this book (a book review).
  • Book Review Digest has 1 entry about this book (a book review).
  • New York Times Historical 1851-2001 has 123 documents that include Color of Water and James McBride in Citation and Document text [the default] . Three of these are by him--two book reviews he wrote about other books and an article about adoption. A large number of the entries list the book on their paperback best seller list. Adding "and not" paperback to search retrieves 14 entries.

Print

  • Book Review Index: A Master Cumulation 1993-1997 ( Z 1035 .A1 B7136 REF SOUTH) has 12 entries for this book.
    Identify contemporary book reviews.
  • "James C. McBride." Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 35. E 185.96 .C66 REF

Identify Books in SAGE (CSU) or OWL (FCPL) online Library Catalogs

  • Do an AUTHOR search in SAGE for McBride James to find books by him. (2 entries.)

Web--Biography, Bibliographies, Notes, Lesson Plans, Critical Essays, and Awards

The Web links on this page are but a selection of the resources available.

  • James McBride. Own Web site.
    Click on "The Author" or "The Musician" for information about his books, upcoming appearances, etc.
  • Excerpt from The Color of Water. P.O.V. PBS.
  • Penguin Reading Guide for The Color of Water. Penguin Books.
    11 discussion questions.
  • Bibliography for The Color of Water by James McBride. Mary E. Thorstensen. Librarian. Cumberland County College. Copyright © 2004.
    Extensive! Articles and books, arranged by perspective.
  • The Color of Water. Andreas Teuber. Philosophy Department. Brandeis University.
    Brief synopsis and biography. Comments (excerpts from book reviews) and links to reviews online.
  • James McBride. African American Literature Book Club.
    Brief biographical information and information The Color of Water and Miracle at St. Anna.
  • Summary of Plot. Philadelphia Free Library. One Book One Philadelphia Project.
    Quite detailed, chapter by chapter. Other materials are available from this page: characters, summary, information about the author, reading guide, etc.
  • Study Guide. SparkNotes. Barnes & Noble.com.
    Chapter summaries, key facts, and more. (Internal advertisements on some pages.)
  • Topics to Consider. Reading Guide Template. PageTurner.net

See also One State (Colorado), One Book & Read On! for 2002 & Read On! for 2003-4 & Read On! for 2005.

Note: As with ALL research, be sure to carefully evaluate what you find and use: books, articles, and Web pages!

How to do Library Research || English Language & Literature

Content: Naomi Lederer