The Color of My Words

Published in 2001 by HarperCollins, The Color of My Words is a children’s novel written by lawyer and author, Lynn Joseph. The novel follows an adolescent protagonist, Ana Rosa, as she observes the world around her and eventually discovers the power of her own voice through writing. The Color of My Words received significant critical recognition, and the International Reading Association and the American Library Association named it a notable book. This study guide refers to the paperback version published in 2000 by Joanna Cotler Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot Summary

Each chapter of The Color of My Words begins with a short poem penned by the protagonist, Ana Rosa, who is 12 years old and very observant. In each chapter, Ana Rosa discovers something significant about her world; usually this is connected to the topic of her poem. Through both the poems and the first person story that follows, Ana Rosa reveals more about herself and about the people around her.

As Ana Rosa begins narrating her story, she describes the things and people that are important to her: Mami, who teaches her most life lessons, Papi, who is a dreamer and drinks a lot, Guario, her hard-working older brother, and Angela, her beautiful older sister. Equally important to the people that Ana Rosa lives with are words: Ana Rosa is an aspiring poet, even though she knows that being a writer is a treacherous career in the Dominican Republic. After Ana Rosa confesses to stealing pages from Guario’s precious work notebook, she wrestles with the tension of letting her family down as a trade-off for her passion.

One of the central aspects of Ana Rosa’s personality is that she enjoys observing, especially from her special place in the gri gri tree near her house. Through this frequent activity, it is Ana Rosa who first spots a whale swimming in the bay, an event which captures the excitement of the whole town. With Mami’s encouragement, Ana Rosa writes a short story about the whale and reads it aloud to all of their neighbors.

Ana Rosa is also different from her siblings and other neighbors because she has trouble dancing. Papi takes her to the beach and teaches her to move her feet with the water; Ana Rosa is then excited to show off her dancing at a party, especially in front of her brother’s handsome friend, Angel. Much to her disappointment, Angel and Angela dance all night, forming a beautiful couple. A few days later, Ana Rosa finds out she is different in another way: Papi is not her real father. This crashing disappointment leads Ana Rosa to decide that she can determine her own story.

Ana Rosa’s newfound strength is tested she learns the government is planning to develop the land her village sets on. With her skill for words now public, Ana Rosa is asked to help fight by publishing her own short article about the conflict. Meanwhile, Guario becomes a centerpiece in the movement to physically defend the town. When the government comes to bulldoze the village, Guario and other townspeople resist. Ana Rosa watches from the gri gri tree as one of the guards shoots and kills Guario.

After several days of mourning from her spot in the gri gri tree, Ana Rosa finally descends, processing her grief with her family. It is her thirteenth birthday, and her parents and siblings, including Guario before his death, had scraped together money to purchase her a brand-new typewriter. The novel closes on Ana Rosa determined to write her brother’s story.