My Color Is Rainbow + Art For All Ages

Anyone who knows me ‘in real life’ or has been following my social media feeds for any stretch of time knows that I am a huge proponent of diversity and teaching tolerance. So when I was presented with the chance to review the new book from author Agnes Hsu and illustrator Yuliya Gwilym, My Color Is Rainbow, I jumped at the chance! The story of Little White Arch, and his quest to find his color is a sweet and entertaining read perfect for sharing with children.

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The illustrations are bright, vibrant, and energetic. Gwilym’s screen prints use flat shapes of solid color with sketchy black details, set against a stark white backdrop. The intense colors pop, and the vibe is a combination of both retro and modern. The images stretch across the pages, filled with quirky characters for kids to discover at each reading. Even with the limited color palette and minimal use of lines, the creatures Little White Arch encounters are clearly depicted with loud personalities. (Um, hello, blue unicorn. I kind of  love you!)

Little White Arch sets out to discover his color, and learns from those he meets along the way that he has characteristics of all the colors within him. His color truly is rainbow. After watching this weekend’s demonstrations, and seeing the strength & solidarity of those who marched worldwide in support of so many, I can think of no better book to spark a conversation with children about the need for inclusion & tolerance than My Color Is Rainbow. It’s the perfect stepping stone for an open chat about the diversity that exists within each of us, and the need to embrace the differences among us all.

I read My Color Is Rainbow with both of my kiddos, and those gorgeous colors inspired us to get a little creative. Although I tend to focus more on #thebigone when we’re doing crafts, since #thelittleone is still a bit limited in his abilities, I decided that in the spirit of inclusion, we would do a project that all ages & ability levels could easily partake in… with maybe a little bit of help from a grown up if needed. We created our own versions of the book cover, playing with paints in every color of the rainbow in the process. (Spoiler alert, they turned out awesome!)

You Will Need:
Paints We chose red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, just like a rainbow. You could easily use just the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) though, and achieve the secondary ones when you mix the paint on the canvas. I used acrylic craft paints for #thebigone and washable finger paints for #thelittleone.
Canvas Or paper, to create your masterpieces on. (We used 9″ x 12″ canvases because I knew #thebigone would want to hang these in his room when finished).
Paintbrushes Optional- fingerpaints obviously just need fingers!
Contact paper
Printable Arch Template and pencil to trace Optional
Black marker/paint For Little White Arch’s face.

PRINTABLE:

We got started by setting up our canvases. I used the printable arch template that I created to trace Little White Arch’s shape onto contact paper. Then I cut out the arch and stuck that into the middle of each canvas. You can easily free hand your arch as well, but I know some people feel less crafty than others, so I created the printable to help.

I prepped #thelittleone’s canvas by adding globs of each color of finger paint to a separate part of the canvas around the arch. Then we stripped him to his diaper and let him at it. He loved getting in there and smearing all the paint around with his fingers. (We have him do messy projects like this inside a shallow plastic bin, in hopes of at least slightly containing the mess). The longer you let the little guys finger paint, the ‘muddier’ their colors will likely become, so keep that in mine while you’re working. When he was finished, I peeled up the contact paper and set the canvas aside to dry.

#thebigone’s project was completed in much the same way. Since he is older, I instead gave him a small palette of acrylic craft paints in each of the colors, and multiple brushes. He spent quite a bit of time painting, and really was interested in the way he could mix the paints right on the canvas. When he had finished his painting, I peeled up the contact paper and set his canvas aside to dry.

When the paint on both canvases had dried completely, #thebigone used a black permanent marker to add faces to our own Little White Arches. The canvases are beautiful, and will make a great addition to the walls in our boys’ rooms.

My Color Is Rainbow is available on Amazon, as well as directly from the Plaeful store. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine has!

How do you teach your kids about kindness and tolerance? I’d love to hear about it, so please let me know in the comments below! 

Other great book suggestions for your children can be found here.
Check out these other great ideas for arts & activities inspired by children’s literature!

Disclosure: Although I received a free copy of the book for review, all opinions are my own.
Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post (at no additional cost to you), which allows me to continue providing free content on the blog.