Her Name Was Beauty delivers a powerful message of life as a mixed race child, and the pain she suffers in preschool because of the color of her skin.  Beauty’s ethnic mix is French, Creole, African American, Native American, and Hispanic.  The kids that she encounters at school will not sit next to her or play with her at playtime.  The girls pull her hair, and someone calls her a "mutt."   Beauty can't understand this treatment; she has always known that she is special to her family, and doesn't feel "different."

Beauty's parents talk to her about her heritage and racism, encouraging her to take pride in herself as she is. They speak of the hardships that they encountered as children, and advise Beauty on coping with the problems in her school as they show her the family tree, and explain to her why she is special.

This is a large print book with no illustrations. While it seems to be written for younger children to read independently, it contains many vocabulary words that will be new to them. Read Her Name Was Beauty aloud at family time, as a bedtime story or as a great conversation starter about racism and ethnic challenges.  It would be especially meaningful to a child who might encounter the same problems, and a cautionary story for children who might  meet someone who is "different."