Reena’s Rainbow
Dee White, Author
Tracie Grimwood, Illustrator
EK Books, Fiction, Sep. 30, 2017
Suitable for Ages: 4-8 years
Themes: Friendship, Dog, Inclusion, Deaf, Homeless, Differences
Opening: In Reena’s world, sounds scattered and scrambled and made no sense. But her clear blue eyes saw everything.
Synopsis: Reena is deaf and Dog is homeless, but they are so much more than that. At first Reena and Dog feel like they don’t belong. But when they are a team they help each other. Reena is very observant and doesn’t miss a thing. When they play hide and seek with the other hearing children in the park, Dog shows the kids the best hiding places and Reena always finds them. Their special bond and friendship helps them discover that everyone is different and special in their own way.
Why I like this book:
Dee White’s endearing story is about Reena’s abilities and not her disability.
The bond between Reena and Dog is unbreakable and heartwarming. They find each other’s strengths and work together as a team so that Reena interacts more easily with other hearing children.
Reena has skills and heightened senses that help her navigate her world. She notices things other children don’t, like a branch that breaks and nearly injures another child. When playing hide-and-seek, she’s clever because she notices “eyes peeping through pampas,” and a” pink cardigan camouflaged in cherry blossoms.”
The is a beautiful story of inclusion that teaches children how to respect and celebrate their strengths and differences. The rainbow symbolically embraces the range of differences in our colorful human family. It is a heartwarming story that also shows children the importance of acceptance and friendship.
Tracie Grimwood’s soft, pastel illustrations are lively and add a joyful spirit to the special friendship between a girl and her dog. This is a beautiful collaboration between author and illustrator.
Resources: The book is an excellent is an excellent resource. Learning about differences offers new experiences and fosters compassion in children. Ask children if they know anyone with a disability. Make a list of the disabilities or differences they have seen. It will help them realize that we’re all humans, even if we may need to wear hearing aids, use a walking device or wheelchair, have Down Syndrome or autism.
*The publisher provided me with an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.
Children's Books Heal 
Your first sentence under “Why I like it” says it all. Thanks for sharing this book!
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It is an uplifting story!
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Sounds sweet! Never enough books about differently-abled kids! This sounds like a keeper.
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I agree, we need many books about differently-abled kids. It is a keeper.
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This sounds like a beautiful book, Pat. Thanks for cluing us in to it!
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It is such an important book for children. I loved sharing Reena’s story with its many themes.
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Highlighting the main character’s abilities instead of her disabilities is great. Of course, I like any book that has a dog in it. An excellent choice once again.
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He is a homeless dog with quite a personality. Reena is such a sweet story about her learning how to interact with hearing children.
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This looks like a lovely book, Pat…very much needed by every kid, not just those with special needs. Thanks so much for turning the spotlight on it!
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I agree that all children need to be exposed to stories like Reena’s. This one touched me because our daughter was hearing impaired and wore an FM system on the front of her so that she heard the teacher’s voice directly into her hearing aids. Oh, the teasing she endured.
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This sounds like a lovely book, Patricia. I like that it is more about abilities than disabilities. We do need to focus on what children, what we, can do, rather than not do.
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Yes, I agree with you. As Reena and Dog work together and share their talents, she’s able to play with the hearing kids.
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Such a lovely story. 🙂
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Love the focus on ability & not disability. Can’t wait to read this, especially since it features a dog, too!
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It is an important book for children. It touched my heart because my daughter is hearing impaired. I like seeing more stories written for all kids that focuses on “abilities.”
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Beautiful story Pat. I too loved the focus in this story and the illustrations are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.
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We need more books about inclusion for children with different abilities. This one is close to home as my daughter was hearing impaired and wore hearing aids.
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It would be nice if this book were read in ALL classrooms to help hearing children understand better what it must be like for someone dealing with deafness. I’m certainly placing this book at the top of my list. Thank you for bringing such valuable books to light.
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I am pleased you like the story. It is close to my heart because my daughter was hearing impaired and wore hearing aids and an FM system on the front of her so that the teacher’s voice went into her aids. And even though her audiologist came to the classroom at the beginning of each school year to talk about hearing aids, she still was teased. But I agree, a book would also help.
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I love the theme – “everyone is different and special in their own way.” I look forward to reading this book. Thank you for highlighting it! 🙂
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I am always on the outlook for stories like this to share. Very important to focus on what a child can do. With a hearing impaired daughter, she has senses that are much more developed than mine.
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Pat, I like how an author wrote about a child with a disability that you cannot see, especially since deafness isn’t often included in picture books. And I love how it’s about her abilities and NOT her disability. I’m going to put this one on our library wishlist. We’re having our book fair in early December. Thanks!
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It’s such an important story for children to talk about abilities. It would also pair nicely with “Let’s Hear it for Amigal,” which is a story about a girl with a cochlear implant and for older kids, Cece Bell’s El Deafo.
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Yes, our kids love El Deafo. Will have to take a look at “Let’s Hear it for Amigal,” too. Thanks!
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Looks great! I also like Patricia’s suggestions for book pairings.
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Glad you liked this beautiful story!
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Isn’t that what the love is all about – people who need each other finding each other? Sweet pick!
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They support one another and that is so true in this story. They are best friends.
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I love how you phrased the premise: ” this book is about Reena’s abilities and not her disability.” This review is perfect timing. The focus should be on love, acceptance, and most of all that ANY child can be the star of ANY story.
You would love a recent review I did on a multiracial child with terminal illness. Instead of focusing on the harsh cruelties of Angel spending her childhood in the hospital and in and out of surgery, the book is a wet and wild adventure with her stuffed bear to put smiles on the faces of kids who desperately need a reason to smile. Check out https://www.biracialbookworms.com/multiracial-book-terminal-illness/. Thanks for linking up this fabulous post with #diversekidlit. We hope to see you often!
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Thank you for visiting! I’m glad you liked Reena’s Rainbow. I visited your website and enjoyed your review of White Bear! What a great post. Thanks you for sharing!
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