Raising children in a diverse world, it is imperative that we teach our children how to walk through life with compassion, embracing differences. Reading to our kids is an excellent way to teach them empathy and compassion, giving examples of characters they can relate to while offering appropriate behavior and solutions for tough situations.
One author and illustrator Amy Louise, was moved to publish her stories for children in the midst of an increasingly harsh political climate, in order to promote loving relationships and diminish bullying by inspiring children to value differences. Her two books, "Completely Rainbow" and "The King's Beloved Colors" touch on different areas of acceptance and speak to children through the vivid rainbow illustrations and fairytale nature of storytelling. The illustrations present rainbows as more than just colors, but as our personalities and gifts.
"Completely Rainbow," which won a Royal Dragonfly Book Award in November 2016, shares the journey of one little girl who feels like she doesn't fit in, and ultimately not only finds her place in this world but sees the fulfillment and value in her differences.
"The King's Beloved Colors" takes a more fairytale approach, painting a picture of a world where the colors are the people, representing a rainbow world. Each color represents a gift with which the people are assigned to create, while the illustrations in the story represent a variety of minorities. The story addresses negative emotions like jealousy and anger towards people who aren't like us, and ultimately uses the solution to tell an origin story for the rainbow and shadows.
The books also lightly touch on working through pain to find your answer, and appreciating people even when they don't have good intentions, opening up a wide array of conversations to be had with your children around these books, from bullying and valuing others, to personal struggles and working through negative emotions.
Amy Louise isn't the only author publishing books that teach children differences should be embraced. Authors Patricia Polacco, Max Lucado, and David McKee are well known authors that have all published stories about a character embracing their own differences or differences in others.
Amy expects to publish a third title by the fall with a release date of August 2017.
All titles can be found on Amazon and B&N.com, as well as in some local bookstores.
Completely Rainbow: http://a.co/fW35sY1
The King's Beloved Colors: http://a.co/eh5dZ5B
Image from "The King's Beloved Colors"
Image from "Completely Rainbow"
