Reading Todd Parr With a Preschool Class

Beth Pastron

As a lover of literature, I was both thrilled and excited to research children's books on diversity, equality, and inclusion from our school's library. I personally know why literature is important to me as a 61-year-old adult, and here are the reasons that literature is vital in a child's world: 

The purpose of literature is to:

• Foster personality and social development

• Help children develop into caring and intelligent humans

• Enable young generations to develop emotional intelligence 

• Encourage children to self-reflect on their emotions 

• Give children an awareness and appreciation of their own cultures as well as other cultures

• Empathize through the characters they meet

• To think deeper about their feelings towards some topics in real life

WOW! All that in a twenty-page children's book. Books are of value because they transform us and open our hearts to new ideas and perspectives. I chose to dive into Be Who You Are by Todd Parr. The words are simple but powerful and the illustrations are colorful and diverse. More importantly, the illustrations feature children.  

BE BOLD! BE DIFFERENT! BE BRAVE! BE PROUD OF WHERE YOU’RE FROM!  These are just some of the sentiments and messages that are written in this wonderful book. I had the privilege of reading this book to the older two-year-old class at my school. They were very engaged and a lot of discussion took place, mostly about the dog in a few pictures and also the part about being what you can be! The dialogue was left open to both think and reflect. The books that I have looked into are vessels to a more individualized discussion to meet your classroom or family’s needs and interests. At times, illustrations are more impactful than the words. That pause and quiet as children look at the illustrations can lead to some interesting perspectives and meaningful interpretation.

Why is it so difficult to be kind? Accepting? Non-judgmental?  Do we really all want to be the same? Before reacting, take the pause and think, just as the children do!