I am a teacher of primary-age children, and I am continuously looking for developmentally appropriate ways to engage my students in conversations about kindness and friendship. Bibliotherapy is one of my favorite methods for encouraging such conversation, as children readily identify with storybook characters. It is rare for me to read aloud a story and my young students not offer immediate commentary about characters or events or connections to their own lives. “That happened to me!” someone will inevitably raise their hand and launch into an applicable (or not applicable) tale.
I recently was given a picture book worth sharing. It is a marvelous story for children, and it is perfect for parents or teachers who wish to teach children about kindness and empathy and helping others and doing the right thing. The title is Who Is My Neighbor? written by Amy-Jill Levine [my dad’s friend] and Sandy Eisenberg Sasso.
Who Is My Neighbor? tells the familiar parable of the Bible’s Good Samaritan but in a version highly relatable for young children. The story begins, “Once there was a town where only Blues lived…” The Blues, of course, thought they were the coolest color, far superior than Yellows. Blue parents warned their children to avoid Yellow children, and Yellow parents told their children the Blues were not their neighbors. One must only associate with one’s own group, taught the parents. “Yellows are the hottest,” the parents explained.
But then one day. One day Midnight Blue went for a bike ride, lost his balance, and tumbled off his bike. Navy and Powder Blue saw and ignored the injured Midnight Blue, leaving him to wonder why his neighbors left him ignored and bruised on the side of the road. “They must not be true Blue,” he concluded. But then Lemon rode by, saw Midnight Blue needed help, and stopped despite her fear of Blues. Lemon picked up Midnight Blue’s books, loaded him onto her bike, and sat with him at Dr. Gold’s office where he was cared for by a friendly and soothing Yellow doctor. “Good as gold!” the Yellow doctor encouraged his Blue patient.
Source: Christianity Today
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