The Color of Friendship

by Ariana Kenny, Tawana Parker-Kenney

Overview

A young child's life is simple. They don't see color or differences in one another. They just know that if you like the things they like then they want to be your friend. As a child becomes school-aged and learns through discovery of their surroundings, they will begin to ask the more difficult societal questions. This book will serve as an introductory resource for parents and/or caregivers in having the discussion about differences among their friends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781491836606
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	12/10/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	24
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ariana Kenny and Tawanna Parker-Kenny are mother and daughter. Ariana Kenny is a 10 year old, 5th grade, straight A student that enjoys hanging out with her friends, going to church and spending time with her family. She is an active member of Girl Scouts of America. She loves to draw and read. Her favorite food is pizza. When she grows up, she wants to go to college and be a successful business woman, owning her own company. Tawanna Parker-Kenny, MA is an entrepreneur with experience in fields such as Business Management, Corporate Training and Facilitation, Organizational Leadership and Design, Financial Services, Six Sigma Process Improvement and Transportation. She earned her Bachelor's Degree from Xavier University and Master's Degree from University of Phoenix. She is a mother of 2 (Ariana&Hunter) and a wife to Forrest Kenny. She enjoys working, a variety of philanthropic activities, supplemental homeschooling her children, spending time with friends and family. Tawanna, Ariana, Forrest and Hunter live in Southern Ohio.

Read an Excerpt

The Color Of Friendship

---

By Ariana Kenny, Tawanna Parker-Kenny, Rebecca Prato

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2013 Ariana Kenny & Tawanna Parker-Kenny
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4918-3659-0

---

CHAPTER 1

My name is Ariana and these are my friends: Omari, Kaya, Xavier, Maya and Hunter. My friends and I enjoy playing together. When we aren't playing at school, we go over Xavier's house because he has a big playground in his backyard or to Maya's house because she has a pool with fun water games.

We all met in Ms. Johnson's class at Amistad Elementary. We became best friends the first day of school. Ms. Johnson was teaching the lesson, "Colors and Beyond". The lesson covered regular colors like red, blue, green, brown, white and yellow but also blended colors and shades. During class, Kaya turned toward Hunter and realized the color of their skin was different.

After class, Kaya, holding her arm next to Hunter's arm, said, "Look! The color of my skin is different than Hunter's." Hunter agreed and said, "Wow! Your skin is darker than mine." I looked at my skin and said, "My skin is darker than both of yours." Hunter then asked, "Why is it different and what does this mean?" Kaya responded, "I don't know. Are we only allowed to be friends if our skin color matches? Does this mean we can't be friends anymore?" "I don't know either, I'm going to ask my mother", I said. Everyone agreed to do the same.

When I got home from school, my mother was in the kitchen making dinner. She stopped to give me a hug and asked about my day. I sat at the table and put my head down. Seeing that I was upset, my mother asked, "Is everything ok?" I raised my head to ask her, "Why is my skin color different from my friends? Does it mean we can't play together anymore?"

My mother stopped what she was doing, put her arms around me and said, "Tell me what happened." I began telling her about the lesson and how we noticed our skin color was different. "What does it mean?" I asked. Hugging me tight, she said, "Friends can come in different skin colors. It doesn't mean you can't be friends."

Mom smiled and asked, "What is your favorite toy?" I said, "My doll." She then asked, "What is Hunter's favorite toy?" I said, "His truck." She said, "The two of you have different favorite toys. Does that mean you can't play together?" I replied, "Mom, that's just silly." She began to laugh and said, "So is not being able to play together because your skin color is different. You will discover many other differences about each other." "Like what?" I asked. Mom replied, "Things like height, favorite foods, family traditions and celebrations. Differences aren't a bad thing; they just make your friendship all the more special. Differences give us the opportunity to grow and learn more about one another." "So we can stay friends?" I asked. "Yes, you can," said mom. I felt so much better after talking to my mother. I couldn't wait to go to school the next day and tell my friends the great news.

The next morning I awoke before my alarm could sound. I was excited to start the day. I was up and out of bed when my mother walked in my room. "Good morning, Ariana. You're up early," said mom. "I can't wait to get to school and see my friends. I want to tell them the great news!" I said excitedly. "Well then, let's get you ready for school!" said mom. "Yay!" I shouted. I got dressed quickly then it was off to school for breakfast with my friends.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from The Color Of Friendship by Ariana Kenny, Tawanna Parker-Kenny, Rebecca Prato. Copyright © 2013 Ariana Kenny & Tawanna Parker-Kenny. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---