Does Your Preschooler Have This Fabulous Multicultural Children’s Book?

This book is recommended for children ages 4-8, but I wish every preschooler had a copy of it. It’s a truly fabulous multicultural children’s book that can grow with your child.

My post on Montessori-inspired respect for diversity tells why it’s so important to talk with children about race as early as age 3. And a perfect way to start talking is through positive multicultural books.

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What is the book that I’m recommending for preschoolers through age 8? It’s The Colors of Us by Karen Katz. The Colors of Us celebrates diversity with its beautiful palette of shades of brown.

The Colors of Us is a Montessori-friendly book about a 7-year-old girl named Lena. Lena’s mother takes her on a neighborhood walk to focus on all the shades of brown before Lena paints a self portrait.

I love that the book uses many delicious food images to describe colors, such as Lena’s friend Sonia, who is light yellow brown like creamy peanut butter or her friend Isabella, who is “chocolate brown, like the cupcakes we had for her birthday.” After the walk, Lena paints all the people she saw in a multitude of beautiful shades of brown: “The colors of us!”

I didn’t’ get the book until my 5-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, was 4 years old, although she would have loved it at age 3 as well. It’s been one of Zoey’s favorite books since we first read the story together.

Zoey likes to share her favorite books. Here, she’s showing The Colors of Us to her cousin, Caleb, when he was 15 months old and her sister, Sophia, when she was 18 months old. Even though the book isn’t designed for toddlers, I’m always happy to see positive ideas being shared!

I have skin-tone colored pencils for my grandchildren to use for drawing and coloring. (If you’re wondering, this is the pencil holder shown in the photo.) I also have multicultural markers and crayons available. Mixing paint to make the needed shade of brown is another great way to focus on skin tones.

This book is also a wonderful extension for work with grading shades of color in Montessori color box 3 (which you can purchase or make your own)!

Other Favorite Multicultural Books for Talking about Race with Young Children

But I don’t wait to introduce positive attitudes toward other races with The Colors of Us. I start with the lovely Global Babies board book (great for even young babies). On Amazon, it’s listed as being for ages 2-3, although I really recommend having it as one of your baby’s first books.

It’s a Montessori-friendly board book with beautiful photographs of babies around the world by Global Fund for Children. There are now many Global Fund for Children Books. The ones I’ve seen are all amazing!

A book I especially like, starting at age 2, is Whoever You Are. Whoever You Are is a simple introduction to the idea that people are different around the world, but we’re the same in the most important ways. It’s recommended for ages 4-7, although I think it’s best for ages 2-5. It’s a Montessori-friendly book except for the unrealistic-sized (and located in space) images of people shown with the globe.

 

All the Colors We Are/Todos los colores de nuestra piel: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/La historia de por qué tenemos diferentes colores de piel celebrates the variety of skin colors. This Montessori-friendly book is rich in information and is written in both English and Spanish. It’s wonderful for multicultural studies and helps children understand why we have the color of skin that we do. It’s recommended for ages 3-6.

All Are Welcome is a fabulous book of inclusion … ideal for peaceful classrooms. This Montessori-friendly book is recommended for ages 4-8. I’d love to see classrooms around the world sharing this book with their students. You may want to have it for your home, too.

Update: You’ll find lots and lots of multicultural children’s books in this post: Favorite Black History Books for Kids

More Multicultural Resources

• Montessori-Inspired Respect for Diversity
• Montessori Inspiration for Martin Luther King Day
• Free Hanukkah Songs and Rhymes for Circle Time
• Free Kwanzaa Songs and Rhymes for Circle Time
• Free Martin Luther King Day Songs and Rhymes for Circle Time
• Free Chinese New Year Songs and Rhymes for Circle Time
• Free Cinco de Mayo Songs and Rhymes for Circle Time
• Equality and Peace Resources for Parents and Teachers
• The Snowy Day Eggshell Crushing and Pin-Poking Activity
• Promote Peace with Holidays Around the World Resources
• The Best Peace Books for Kids
• Free Multicultural Songs Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion {Character Education Resources}
• Multicultural Children’s Book Day Review: If a Caterpillar Can Fly, Why Can’t I?
• Multicultural Children’s Book Day Review: Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School
• Does Your Preschooler Have This Fabulous Multicultural Children’s Book?
• Best Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes
• Multicultural Children’s Book Day Review: B Is for Breathe: The ABCs of Coping with Fussy and Frustrating Feelings
• Anti-Racism Resources for Parents and Teachers
• Free Juneteenth Songs and Educational Videos
• Free Black History Printables and Montessori-Inspired Black History Activities
• Multicultural Education Pinterest Board

I hope you found some helpful resources for positive talks about race! 🙂

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