The Chalk Rainbow, by Deborah Kelly, illustrated by Gwynneth Jones - ESSENTIAL

Kelly, Deborah.  The Chalk Rainbow, illustrated by Gwynneth Jones.  EK Books, 2017.  $17.99.  Content: G.  PICTURE BOOK.

Her brother Zane is different than other kids.  He talks different and HATES the color black.  He won’t wear black or walk across the black road to the playground.  Sometimes Zane’s dad gets mad at him.  Zane’s sister has an idea.  She starts a chalk rainbow on their porch and they keep coloring down to the sidewalk until they run out of chalk.  They show their parents how to make chalk rainbow bridges and soon there are rainbows everywhere—on the black road to the playground and all the way home. 

This book reminded me of children in the autistic spectrum.  I thought it was a beautiful book to explain how even though children with special needs can seem different than other kids, we can create rainbow bridges and include them in our fun.  Illustrator Gwynneth Jones cleverly uses color to help tell Zane’s story.  Jones used the color black (which Zane hates) to show how Zane feels when things don’t line up the way he wants them to and when he is mad.  Color and rainbows burst from every page as Zane and his sister make chalk rainbows.   

Pre-K, EL (K-3) -ESSENTIAL.  Samantha Hastings, MA, MLS.