How the Rainbow Came to Be

by Alma Flor Ada, Viví Escrivá (Illustrator)

Red, Blue, and Yellow, work together to bring color to a gray planet.

14 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

(http://facebook.com/almaflorada)

Dr. Ada was the founder and First Editor in Chief of :
NABE, Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education

She has been active for many years in various professional associations including : IRA, International Reading Association
CRA, California Reading Association
CABE, California Association for Bilingual Education
USIBBY, US Branch of the International Board of Books for Young People

She is a member of :
Advisory Board of Loose Leaf Public Radio Programs
National Television Workshop
Between the Lines
Reading Up!, Natural Head Start Association

A frequent speaker at national and international conferences, Dr. Ada also works in school districts with children, teachers and parents.

The award-winning author of numerous children’s books and a prolific translator, Alma Flor Ada is a leading mentor and philosopher of bilingual education in the United States.

She has authored several reading programs, among them two Spanish reading programs :
Cielo abierto (K-6)
Vamos de fiesta! (K-3)

and of two English reading programs :
Signatures (K-6)
Collections (K- 6)

and is a series consultant for Relatos de la historia (1-5), a Spanish social studies program developed by Harcourt School Publishers.

Among her most substantive contributions to the transmission of Hispanic culture to children are :
Música amiga, a program for learning through songs, published by Del Sol Books
Puertas al Sol - Pathways to the Sun, published by Santillana
Latino poetry, Art, and Biographies for children, published by Santillana

Dr. Ada received her Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from the Pontifical Catholic University of Lima, Perú and did post-doctoral research at Harvard University as a Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute and a Fulbright Research Scholar.

Reviews

[Kenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

How the Rainbow Came to Be was actually a book that I picked up by chance, thinking it seemed like a fun read outside of my work for the EDRD class, however, it ended up being one of my favorite examples of just how important illustration is in a children's book. Vivi Escriva has created the illustration sfor a story where the Earth starts out as a bland, colorless land full of grey and black but gradually is painted by three characters; Red, Blue and Yellow. At first each individual color believes that the world would be perfect with all that one color. It isn't long, though, until Blue realizes that he can't, "paint the land blue, or it would blend right into the sky and oceans," so he works with Yellow, who has made the sun along with many flowers in his own color, and the two create the color green for the hills and valleys. This pattern continues until the world has been painted all different colors of the rainbow. By starting with a colorless world, Escriva has taken readers into a different reality and made them think about what importance colors and pictures really have in building a story. Not only does the book change into a much more fun and enjoyable thing to spend time with as more color gets involved, but it also gives hints into bigger meanings such as how kids can share ideas to make a new, better plan and how working alone can sometimes hold you back from something wonderful.

[Xaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is FABULOUS! Every time I see the word "rainbow", now, I think of this book. The illustrations are nice and the message of working together to create/augment beauty is simply wonderful.

I adore this book and highly recommend it.

[Ed · Rating 1 out of 5]

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