Neighbor News
7-year-old boy spreads beautiful message of love by giving away and reading of the book 'We are one'
Education, Diversity, Love, unity, differences, race, tolerance, acceptance of differences, peace, friendship, community, schools, libraries
7-year-old boy Param Patel read Children's book 'We are one' and gave away copies of the book at a 'Cute Lil Protest' organized by SF families at SF Botanical Gardens, Golden Gate Park today.
Param is also spreading the beautiful message of the book on diversity and inclusion by book-readings at the local schools and donating the books to the local libraries and schools.
The book is inspired by questions from six-year-old Param. Even though he loved the Indian food made at home, he often felt ashamed about bringing it to school. He would also notice other differences between him and his friends. He did not want to be different from the others. The book has been able to instill pride in Param for his food, language, culture, and uniqueness.
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Mother and son are trying to make the book available to local libraries and schools so that the readers of the book learn what Param just did - that it’s okay to be different, and that still you can be one with friends despite your differences. The book has been able to instill pride in Param for his food, language, culture, and uniqueness.
In the process of spreading the message through the book ‘We are one’, they learned from many Moms who read and appreciated the book that food shame is a real issue among children and children do feel ashamed of the food and other differences.
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It is surprising but children do start noticing various differences including skin color, food, language etc. at an early age. The book is very relevant in the current time and helps children to understand and accept the differences and feel unity in love and friendship by engaging story with beautiful illustrations.
If conscious efforts are made to inculcate pride for one’s uniqueness, acceptance and respect of others despite differences, and understanding of oneness of humanity in love in the children from an early age, the world would be more peaceful.
Imparting such fundamental knowledge can help save our children from the pain, suffering, and shame resulting from bullying, alienation, and low self-esteem, which will lead to a healthier next generation.
The book with insightful storytelling and beautiful illustrations engages the children explaining them differences and also revealing what unites them despite differences. In the process, children identify some similarities and learn to accept the differences. The book promotes integration of different cultures by sharing and caring.
The book is very well received by children, parents and teachers as is evident from excellent reviews which can be found on the Facebook page of the book - https://www.facebook.com/Story.Book.We.are.one/
Below are the reviews of the book ‘We are one’ by prominent educators:
"We Are One" has a powerful message that needs to be spread to all corners of this country, especially in the current times.' - Iván Quiñones, Founder-Executive Director Educa2, Inc.
“The traditions and customs that we each celebrate are a part of what makes us unique individuals. This is the poignant message in the book We Are One. Children will be entertained by the characters in this thoughtful and well-written story. The author carefully crafts the important message to love who you are and appreciate those things that make each person special. This book is a great read both in the classroom and at home. We Are One is sure to spark meaningful dialogue with younger children.” -Kelly Corteway, Elementary Principal
“This beautifully illustrated book is a great resource for preschools to teach children diversity and acceptance of our differences. We Are One is a delightful and charming storybook not only for children but also for parents, as it places a great emphasis on love that unites us and gives value to the recognition of different cultures as well as teaching our children our own traditions and customs.” -Karina Garcia-Barbera, PhD, Preschool Director
Also, the educational impact of the book can be found in the video URLs below of the book reading at local school as well as discussion of the book with the children.
The link to the video playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUCW-KhPHA3Yxw4GL9qVmusVQcp1CWSoj
The Facebook page of the book:
https://www.facebook.com/Story.Book.We.are.one/
Check out more reviews on the Facebook page- Section - About -Story
The book is also included in the resources for the parents and teachers for multicultural books:
https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/diversity-friendship-picture-books/
The Author Pinky Mukhi can be contacted on pinkymukhi@gmail.com by schools or libraries for arranging book reading or for getting free copies of the book ‘We are one’.