The Land of Many Colors

by Rita Pocock

Preschoolers present their views on resolving conflicts and solving problems.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens

1 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

Reviews

[Deania · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an interesting read. As it is written by a YMCA family preschool in Klamath Falls, Oregon it seems it is made for preschoolers. In the book there are three different types of people that think they are better than each other. As you continue reading an issue comes up and the people have to resolve the issue. It only takes one person to realize how to fix it and then they all become friends. It teaches young children how to get a long, make decisions, and work together to resolve things.

My son really liked this book as it also helped with color recognition and talked about sharing.

[Megan Shields]

This book really emphasizes how one little voice can change many minds. There are so many themes that could be talked about with The Land of Many Colors, but what I mainly want to get across is how our voices can be used to speak out against injustice and to bring clarity to an issue. From here I would have students explore Kelly Gallager's prompt of "Why should I care?" I would give them a selection of current news articles and ask them to pick one that they need to ask the question, "Why should I care about this?" and then do the research they need to discover the reason knowing about these issues matter. Ultimately, the end goal should be so students grasp that by knowing about these problems students can take action and do something to combat or try to solve them.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Klamath County YMCA Family Preschool (teacher Charlotte "Coco" Reyes, assistant teacher Sande Jipp, and their students) writes a children's story about multicultural community building across borders (in 1993, in response to on-going community discussion of the Persian Gulf War). This book is also illustrated by Rita Pocock. The book may also be an allegorical warning about the dangers of ethnonationalism, closed communication networks, and resource hoarding. Three different color-based populations (purple people, blue people, and green people) go to war against each other, based on competing interests for local resources. Following a devastating war, the three color-based populations build a new multicolor society founded on the principles of shared values rather than physical differences and provincial preferences, before discovering together even more benefits of sharing diverse resources equitably and celebrating hybridity of cultures. While some readers may criticize the limited world-building which limits historical understanding, other readers seeking a simple narrative celebrating multicultural community-building founded on sharing resources should be pleasantly entertained.

[Haaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book with such an important message. And it was written by children!

[Marsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loved it and now my granddaughter does too. This should be at the top of the children's classics book list. Age 0-5.

[Jordan DiDomenico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect and beautiful

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

The color bears like that their color is best. The color bears get into a War because they each think their color is best. The illustrations are very simple. The conflict is very real. The author is a teacher who puts this book together with her students. It is such a great book for preschoolers who are learning about themselves and how to solve their problems. It also teaches about War and how hurtful it could be. It is a must read.

[Jessica Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it relates to real-life situations that people go through each day. It's a great way to teach children about how important it is to accept everyone no matter how different they might be or what issues they are going through. It really is a wonderful book for promoting world peace and it's easy for young children to understand.

[Kelly Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has wonderful illustrations and was created by the YMCA preschool from Oregon. The illustrations show the different people as colors of the rainbow and have the theme of teasing for differences. This is a great book to introduce the topic of teasing and bullying to young students so that they are able to comprehend. I enjoy that children help to make the story and illustrations.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the message that this book gave. It would be a great way to show children the importance of accepting everyone for who they are. It is written in away that young children would be able to understand. My favorite part of the book is when a child covered in dust tells them all to stop and that they are all the same.

[Hollee Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this book was written by a group of young students! This gives a message to readers that you can do anything you put your mind to! Great for read aloud!

[Kelly Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addition to my library. It is a fun read aloud. It can be used to teach colors and also acceptance of those who are different.