Polar Bear and the Rainbow (Glitter Books)

This is a children's book about a polar bear who did not like the color of his fur. He thought it was boooring to be just like everyone else. He comes to realize that being "polar bear colored" is not so bad and while it may seem boring at first it is also exciting in its own ways. You can take this book's message and interpret it to mean that everyone must look the same, that "white is good" as already mentioned - then present it to your children as such. Or you can interpret it in the manner in which the author intended, which is that you don't need to be spectacular on the outside to be special and belong.(hence, the contrast with plain Ben to a "rainbow" and not a brown bear or a grizzly bear or a black bear) We chose the latter to teach to our children. But if you feel that you have a situation in your household where this book may bring up issues you are not ready for yet then perhaps it would be best to steer clear. The book itself is quite pretty and the children gave it many oohs and aahs when it was unwrapped. My daughter has this on her top 5 reading requests for nighttime reading.

I thought this book was charming. He thought he looked boring, looking like all the other polar bears, then relished his new colors, then finally decided it was great to look like his family, after all.