The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

The Colors of Us is geared toward children ranging from 4 to 8 years of age and was written in 1999 by Karen Katz

This book is written by the author for her daughter, Lena, who is seven years old and adopted from Guatamala. Lena is preparing to draw a picture of herself.  Yet before doing so, she and her mother walk through the neighborhood.  During their walk, Lena recognizes that people have a variety of skin colors and shades.  By the end of the story Lena is able to create her picture  using a number of delicious colors such as cinnamon, honey, caramel.


This book is an excellent tool that could be used by both teachers and parents/guardians to teach children at a young age about the differences and similarities of those in their community.  In fact, since children tend to be more accepting of others and their differences this book may be of benefit to older children as well. The author has a number of other books that are related but about other cultures. For example, My First Kwanzaa, My First Chinese New Year, and My First Ramadan.  Katz also has authored many books geared toward very young children such as A Potty for Me, Where Is Baby's Belly Button, and Now I'm Big.  In addition, she has also written books about family relationships with baby (i.e., mommy, daddy).

As a contemporary realistic fiction book for children, this book offers believable characters in a realistic neighborhood setting.  Also, the illustrations are colorful while using a plethora of shades to create the various images described.


Motivational Activities:

1. Students will draw a picture of their family followed by sharing details of their drawing with their shoulder partner.  Each pair can share their drawings with the class and will share one positive comment about their partner's family to the class.

2.  The teacher can discuss examples of different color shades and then bring in the differences in skin color for different people.  They may opt to use animal examples first.  This would be an excellent approach to discussing diversity among people in the community.

Reader Response Questions:

1.  How old is Lena and what did she notice as she walked throughout her neighborhood?

2. What country was Lena adopted from?

3.  Describe how Lena used her observations from her walk to complete her picture.

Katz, K. (1999) The Colors of Us  New York, Macmillan Publishers


http://us.macmillan.com/thecolorsofus/karenkatz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PwCkX59WBo