We authored this book with our then 8-year-old twins in response to a situation where our then six- year-old daughter was subjected to a racist comment on the school playground. As parents, we wanted to do something to empower our daughter to find a proactive solution. We came up with the idea of a book to help teach young children the basic concepts of diversity and inclusion. By exposing them to these concepts at a young age, we are hoping to instill an understanding of the importance of inclusion that will grow with them as they build their own rainbow of friends. We wanted our daughter Maya to learn how to turn a negative experience into a positive solution and to do something beneficial at the same time.
Maya and Rajan’s Rainbow of Friends addresses the inclusion of children of different racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds as well as special needs kids, to mention a few areas of “differences”. It illustrates the inclusion of girls in any and all activities and it also demonstrates that girls can proactively address negative situations with a positive attitude and solution.