For the past couple of weeks we have been exploring similarities and differences among people around the world, particularly children. We have used several books as entry points for discussion about what makes a person who they are and what shapes someone's identity.  While our physical traits are very much a part of us, physical characteristics such as height, eye color, hair texture, and skin color don't really tell us much about a person.

The Colors of Us, by Karen Katz and Shades of People, by Sheila M. Kelly both highlight the vast diversity and beauty in one of our most noticeable physical traits, our skin color.  We really aren't just black or white, but rather we come in many, many shades including cinnamon, honey, french toast, creamy peach, caramel mocha, and warm beach sand. Most importantly these books point out that our skin is just a covering, and tells us nothing about the person we are on the inside. We have likened skin color to eye color, neither of which tells us if someone is funny, kind, quiet, loud, silly, helpful, or a good friend.  To understand that, you need to get to know a person.

Several other books we have read focus on children around the world, exploring simple routines that are common to many, such as eating breakfast, going to school, playing with friends, and getting ready for bed.  While these children can have noticably different lives depending on what part of the world they live in, emphasis is placed on their commonalities. One World, One Day, by Barbara Kenley, is a photo book that follows the course of children's lives through one day around the world.  To Be a Kid, by Maya Ajmara adn John D. Ivanko, carries the message that children all over the world have much in common, with the repeating phrase "To be a kid means..."  After we read this book children were invited to create their own illustrations of what it means to be a kid.