Nina Bonita: A Story by Ana Maria Machado, illustrated by Rosana Faria Ages 4-8 24 pages Kane/Miller March 2001 Paperback     This utterly charming book tells the story of differences among us in a manner easily understood by young children. Nina Bonita has “eyes like two shiny black olives,” hair that is pitch-black and curly, and skin that is “dark and glossy like a panther in the rain.” When her mother arranges her hair into tiny braids, she looks like a princess of Africa or “a fairy from the Kingdom of the Moon.” One day a white rabbit with pink ears and dark red eyes inquires, “What is your secret? What makes your skin so dark and pretty?” Not sure how to answer, Nina Bonita says that when she was a baby, black ink spilled on her, so the rabbit pours black ink all over himself and sure enough he is black… for a while. Then the rain washes all the ink away. Nina has another idea: “I drank lots of hot coffee.” The rabbit drinks so much coffee that he can’t go to sleep, but he doesn’t turn black. Then, “I ate lots of blackberries,” so he does, but he doesn’t turn black, although he does get a terrible stomachache. The rabbit is very discouraged until Nina Bonita’s mother chimes in, “She looks just like her grandmother!” Suddenly the riddle is solved. The rabbit understands that if he marries a black rabbit, they will have bunnies in all shades of black, white and gray. And that’s exactly what happens: baby bunnies in every shade. The softly-colored illustrations of Nina’s seaside life give subtle nuance to a story that explains color most imaginatively and with great wisdom, a simple lesson easily learned about differences and acceptance.       web reviews   Luan Gaines/2006 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)