Hello, friends! Our book today is Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung, a wonderful lesson in the importance of community diversity.

At first, there were only three colors: the Reds, the Yellows, and the Blues. The Reds were the loudest and most opinionated, the Yellows the brightest and most cheerful, and the Blues were the coolest by far. At first, they all lived in harmony, until a disagreement broke out about which color was the best. The negativity spread to every citizen in the city, and soon the colors had segregated themselves, building walls to keep those different from them out. But one day a very special Blue met a very special Yellow, and found that their differences complimented each other. Despite the disapproval of others, the two mixed together their lives, getting married and creating a new color: Green. She has a mix of her parents’ traits, and yet is a color all her own as well. The other colors begin to take notice, and realize that by reaching out, accepting, and loving those different from them, they are creating a stronger and infinitly more interesting world.

Wonderful! Creating a simple narrative to examine the causes and effects of prejudice, this story can help children to understand why diversity – not only of color, but also culture, ability, faith, gender, sexuality, etc. – helps communities to thrive and grow. The symbolism of the colors is easy to grasp yet still conveys the dangers of separatism with gravity. The text is lovely, honest yet hopeful; the length is great, and JJ loved identifying the colors and watching their world grow and change. A timeless story with timely applications, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)