Preface

Children are often dismissed when it comes to understanding race, social class, and gender among others. The truth is that the sentence is false and children do start to understand race, social class, and gender at a very young age. Authority figures tend to dismiss racism and bullying among young kids rather than correcting a young child since adults believe children don’t see race. This dismissiveness can cause a child to grow up or behave in a negative way which can cause problems in the future. “Using Racial and Ethnic Concepts: The Critical Case of Very Young Children” by Debra Ausdale and Joe Feagin brought to light that in settings even as young as preschool, children are using racial and ethnic concepts. Children are aware of differences among their peers, and their experiences can be both positive or negative towards one another. These differences can shape children's experiences, and storytelling can have a huge impact on children.

    ONCE UPON A TIME...

 In a bright, colorful crayon box, there lived crayons of every color—blue, red, yellow, and green. They loved to color the world with bright skies, blooming flowers, and leafy trees. 

But tucked in the corner of the box was Grayson, the grey crayon. Grayson was quiet and shy because he didn’t feel as colorful or special as the others. 

Every time the crayons were picked to color by the children, they would reach for vibrant colors like the sunny yellow or the bright red. “Who would want to use a boring grey crayon?” Grayson thought sadly to himself. “I’m not as exciting as the others.”

One day, Blue said, “I get to color the sky and the ocean!”
“And I get to color all the beautiful flowers,” said Pink with a proud smile.

Grayson listened quietly, wishing he could be as special as them. He wanted to color something too, but what could a grey crayon do?

What can I do?

One rainy afternoon, the child who owned the crayon box was trying to draw a picture of a rainy day. They looked through all the crayons but couldn’t find the right color for the stormy clouds.

That’s when they noticed Grayson, tucked away in the corner. “Perfect!” said the child, picking Grayson up for the very first time.