Raising Readers and Writers

The Black Book of  Colors by Menena Cottin and Rosina Faria intrigued me right away.  It’s a concept book about the colors of the rainbow, but it’s written from Thomas’ point of view.  Thomas is blind and he describes the colors using his other senses (taste, touch, smell).  His descriptions will give children a whole new way to experience colors.  (Brown crunches under his feet like fall leaves.   Sometimes it smells like chocolate, and other times it stinks.)  What makes this book so different, it that every page is pitch black.  The text is written in white, with raised braille text about the type.  On the right side are raised illustrations in glossy black.   The raised illustrations invite you to sit, explore and imagine, while you feel the images.  The Braille alphabet can be found at the back of the book.

Even though this book was written for younger children, I could see using it for all levels.  My own 2 kids (14 and 16) thought this book was really cool!  Children are given the opportunity to experience the world from a different perspective.  I can also see kids using it as a mentor text as they think about colors using their senses.  I wonder if there isn’t a way to work with the art teacher to create our own Black Book of Colors.  There are so many possibilities with this book.  This is another one I can’t wait to share with my new group of kids.

Although published in 2005 by the Chicago Children’s Museum, The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler and illustrated by David Lee Csicsko was new to me.  It was one of the books recommended by some of the other teachers who went to Cover to Cover with me.  What a great book!  As soon as I looked at the bright, vibrant illustrations, I knew I had to have it for my diverse group of kids.  Michael Tyler’s poem tells young readers how wonderful they are, no matter what color their skin is.  (It’s whatever you do skin, be happy it’s you skin.  You can’t live without it—I’m glad it’s me too skin!)  Food is used to describe different shades of skin color (Your coffee and cream skin, …your marshmallow treat skin, …your butterscotch gold skin,…).  And he tells children what their skin is not…(It’s not dumb skin or smart skin, or keep us apart skin; our weak skin or strong skin, I’m right and you’re wrong skin.)

This books will be great to use at the beginning of the school year as we begin to learn all about each other.  I will also be able to use it to talk about friendship, treating others respectfully, things that scare us, diversity, and many other topics.  I’m glad that I was introduced to this wonderful book.