What’s My Name: A Coloring Game
A Children’s Book by Maureen Martin
Background:
To complete my english minor I needed one more 3000 level class…and I made the mistake of taking Ethical implications of children’s literature. For the extra credit assignment (yes, I needed it), the task was to write a children’s book and explain it’s ethical relevance. The other two books submitted were written to explain the holocaust and the bombing of Syria, respectively, to 5 year olds. Both were met with an emotional intake of breath from the classroom. Mine bombed, because it wasn’t “deep”.
To be fair, I started out on the right track; I was going to do a book explaining the adoption of a baby from Vietnam to your current biological child…using pandas and other bears. No matter how I wrote it, it always seemed to highlight differences/foster racism in a child, by accident. I even asked several parents I know, who all were helpful in their identical answers: “no idea how to tackle that/ I would only explain till it was brought up”
My solution for a topic came from hearing about all the different learning levels in primary public school classrooms at DISD from my friend who is a teacher there. The reading levels are shockingly low, and this leads to lack of engagement/focus in the material. I also empathize with the part about needing something to do as I read- I (like everyone) carry an ADHD diagnoses.
I tried to recall which books stuck with me and came up with 3 themes- Ones that rhyme, one’s that were interactive, and ones with animals.
Is “What’s my name: A coloring game” a great work of literature?
No.
Did I have to write a defense of it to my teacher to gain credit?
Did my teacher friend love it and print 23 copies for her first grade classroom?
(INSERT PICTURE WITH CAIT AND HER KIDDOS)
Here are photos of me coloring my book after it bombed in class.
Painfully Average 