Summary: The Colors of the Rainbow is a multicultural children's book intended for children in Kindergarten through second grade. This story was written by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos and published in 2005. This book provides a visual of how all children are unique in their own way. The author, Jennifer Moore-Mallinos gives examples in the book of how skin color, hair color, eye color, and even the different foods children eat, and the languages they speak make them unique. The book also emphasizes that even though every child is different, there are many similarities that they share.
Personal Evaluation: I think that this is a great non-fiction book that will teach children that no matter what race or ethnicity they are, they have many things in common. This book compares each person to a color of the rainbow because everyone is unique in their own way.
Value of Respect: According to Saint Leo University, "Animated in the spirit of Jesus Christ, we value all individuals’ unique talents, respect their dignity, and strive to foster their commitment to excellence in our work. Our community’s strength depends on the unity and diversity of our people, on the free exchange of ideas, and on learning, living, and working harmoniously." I believe that this book will teach children to respect and accept all people even if they are different from them.
Discussion Questions:
- Are all of your friends JUST LIKE you?
- Do you ever think about your differences when you are having fun together?
- What do you and your friends enjoy doing together?
- Do you know what the word Respect means?
- Tell me some examples of what Respect is
Motivational Activity!
- For the younger students, they will be given a piece of construction paper, each of a different color. On the piece of construction paper each student will be responsible of writing a sentence or word that describes how they are unique. Students will be asked to share their sentences with the rest of the class. After each student has shared their sentence, they will work together as a team to form a rainbow.
- For the older students, I would have them create a symbol of some sort and explain what it means to them, what their beliefs are, and some of their traditions.
- Both of these activities will teach the students to respect others, and their beliefs. The students will learn that, yes, everyone is different, but we also share some similarities.
If you enjoyed this book, check out some other books written by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos
Some Examples:
- My Brother is Autistic
- Mom Has Cancer
- I am Deaf
- My friend has Down Syndrome
- New Kid on the Block
