The “all about me” unit of study was the perfect time to introduce this book. The children were curious about why some friends have brown skin, and some have “pink” skin. This book helped to start the conversation and help the children with brown skin feel proud of their identity.
The author begins the book with very positive words to describe brown skin, “My skin is the perfect shade of brown. I love it so much.” She then proceeds to use similes that preschoolers can understand, “Brown is the color of the earth and the roots of the tree.”
“The color of kings sitting in the highest tower.”
The line that resonated with my preschoolers – “brown is the color of hot cocoa.” During the reading, one child asked, “Miss Anne, are you brown because you drink so much hot chocolate?” Yes, this is why I teach preschoolers. I love what they have to say.
I reread this book several times, and on each subsequent reading, the children chanted along and added in the rhyming words.
The most memorable line came from Myles, age 4. “The little boy looks like me.”
