Shades of People

I absolutely love how the color of people's skin is described in this simple concept book. The skin is not described as colors, but shades, like mocha or almond, or rosy, I think this helps to share that skin color is not one color or another, but on a gradaded scale of colors, one sliding into the next. Each shade of person, in this case it's children, is in this book and they are doing common everyday activities that even very young children will recognize. This book makes the statement that diversity is wonderful and it is all around us, but in a very subtle and thoughtful way children will respond to.

I liked this book because the illustrator used realistic pictures of children today, which provides readers/viewers with physical and relevant examples. Also, there is a strong message that is portrayed by the author which is “Our skin is just our covering, like wrapping paper. And you can’t tell what someone is like from the color of their skin.” The author uses the word “shades” to describe different skin colors. With that being said, I like the word choice because the author utilizes a connotation and/or synonym as the word “shades” represents a deeper meaning. The author ends with, “In the world, there’s light and dark, and everything in between.” Overall, the moral of the story signifies racial and ethnic show more diversity and targets young readers who see the world in different shades. show less

Sarah Durkin
Professor Martens
EDUC 417
16 February 2016
Reading Log #2: Shades of People by, Shelly Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly
In my opinion this is an informational children’s book that introduces racial and ethnic diversity through pictures of young children. I like this book because anyone can relate to it. Everyone is different in his or her own way and being able to see that just because “there can be many shades” of people, it is important not to judge someone by their appearance or by the way they look. I also like how the authors use similes to engage the readers and allow people to think open-minded. For example they say, “Our skin is just our covering, like wrapping paper. And, you can’t tell what someone is like from show more the color of his or her skin.” Providing examples like this creates respect, progressive, and unbiased opinions in the classroom. The message of this book and something I strongly agree with is, that just because everyone is different does not mean they should not be given the same opportunities or be treated differently than anyone else. show less

This concept book for children is spectacular. If we teach children nothing else, then it should be that the color of someone's skin doesn't matter. Adults should read this book with their children. The author does a wonderful job of portraying all skin types as beautiful and explaining that we can't judge someone by their skin. And the live photographs of the children are so darn cute.

This book is great for the world around us today. As our country and communities around us become more and more diverse, it is important to raise kids with awareness of that. This book really emphasizes that shade of skin does not affect a person's personality or worth, that it doesn't define them. It also is colorful, engaging in appearance, and engaging in content by relating the people in it to every day childhood experiences such as the park, or at school.

I really enjoyed reading Shades of People. Every picture shows kids of various shades and ethnic backgrounds. The diversity of every child represented is great for classrooms, because it shows positive interactions amongst races and also every child has the opportunity to see themselves in the book.

I really appreciate how this book does not mention black or white. But rather actual descriptive colors for the variation in skin pigment. It really takes away from our binary thinking about skin tone