We live in a diverse world…a world of color and different abilities. Teaching this concept to a child, particularly a toddler, can be difficult. How do I explain to my son that mommy is Hispanic and daddy is Caucasian? That mommy comes from a country that speaks a different language, eats different foods, and has different customs and traditions? And what about people of varied color, shape, size, and abilities? The answer, to some extent, is in books. Books are a fantastic way of explaining difficult concepts to children. They can illustrate concepts (kid’s style) that I have difficulty explaining.
Dudley’s Solo, by Tiffany Alexander, “is a heartwarming story that encourages kids to embrace each other’s talents and abilities.” Children often face rejection and discrimination when they don’t “fit in.” Sometimes I think that children who have not been properly schooled on issues of acceptance become adults who are intolerant of differences. Here is a little summary of the book, from the site:
Dudley is deaf, but that doesn’t stop him from doing what all his friends in the Children’s Band church group do. Even though Dudley can’t hear or speak, he joins the other kids at their choir concert. He even performs his own solo.
The book’s message is simple…accentuate the positive…embrace that which makes you different. It follows Dudley’s journey to have a solo in the upcoming choir concert. And in the end, he uses the talents he has to sign the words to the song “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands.” The book illustrates diversity in many ways. It exposes children to culture, religion, and different abilities (i.e. deafness). It encourages children to “have self-confidence and to believe in themselves, embrace their differences, never give up on something you really want and find the positive lesson in every challenge they are handed.”
The book is a great way to initiate discussion with children about such subject matters. The author, writes from her heart, as a woman who grew up visually impaired. The inner strength she gained from her experiences inspired her to write this book.
Dudley’s Solo retails for $7.99 and is available for purchase from the site.
I did not receive compensation for this post. The book was received to faciliate this review.
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This sounds like a beautiful story… thanks for bringing the information to us all.. I’m going to pass it along to my twitter friends (now that I know how to do that) and pass it along on Facebook.
You really are a wonderful mother.