Tips for Tots: I Am A rainbow

Hello everyone!

We are excited to introduce our new blog called Tips for Tots: Engaging Children Through Literacy.

AHHAH’s intern Emily Capolupo will be writing a series of blogposts summarizing children’s books, some of which are Dolly Parton Imagination Library selections, and providing activities based on the books that caregivers can use to help children engage with the material. These activities will help to maximize your child’s reading experience and encourage them to have fun with literacy!

Let’s get started with I Am a Rainbow by Dolly Parton!

I Am a Rainbow is the legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton’s first children’s book. This
book encourages children to recognize and understand their emotions by pairing them with colors. Dolly tells readers that they may feel pink when they’re joyful, red when they’re angry, blue when they’re sad, or green when they’re jealous – and she reminds us that everyone experiences this rainbow of emotions. She finishes the book by telling readers that they may not always be able to control which color of the rainbow they are feeling, so they should choose to embrace the whole rainbow! I Am a Rainbow is recommended for children ages 2-6. This book is great for kids who are learning their colors, and for kids who are learning about their emotions.

Activities to get your child more engaged with I Am a Rainbow:

Dolly Parton’s “I Am a Rainbow” sing-along.

Click here to watch "I Am a Rainbow."

Dolly recorded a song by the same title to go along with the story, where she sings “to make a rainbow, you must have rain, must have sunshine, joy, and pain.” This song reinforces the message of the story, it and shows kids that all types of emotions are necessary in order to create the rainbow. This animated sing-along video is a colorful, fun way to get your child to understand the message of the story!


Color scavenger hunt.

For younger children who are still learning colors, use this book as an opportunity for them to find objects of a certain color around your house! Whenever a new color is mentioned in the book, pause your reading and ask your child to go on a scavenger hunt and find 5 objects in that color around your house.


Rainbow emotion calendar.

Hang up a calendar where your child can color in each box with colored pencils or color-coded stickers to represent which emotions they are feeling that day. This is a great way to get them to acknowledge and recognize their feelings every day. It will also allow them to see a visual representation of their rainbow of
emotions once each day of the month has been filled.


Making Connections – Pixar’s Inside Out.

Pixar’s movie Inside Out shares similar themes with I Am a Rainbow, because it also teaches kids about understanding their feelings and acknowledging that each emotion is important. After reading I Am a
Rainbow, watch Inside Out with your child, and ask them to make connections between
the movie and the book.