A book about prejudice for children ages 6-8. On the Playground by Roberts

On the Playground is a non-fiction title that introduces children to the ways in which prejudice can be hurtful and damaging.  In an afterword, the author states:  “When I was growing up, it was common to see other kids being bullied…Much to my shame, I remember doing nothing…I encourage all readers of this book to make better choices than I did.”  The author wrote this book to help children understand and do better.

This is an informational text.  It does not have a fictional story line. There are illustrations that are multi-cultural and multi-contextual.  There is a hybrid of what seems like a read aloud with other sections that are related and instructional.

To this reader, the book did not seem like one that a child would pick up and read but more one that would be part of a discussion in a school setting.  While I admired what the author hoped to, and does in many ways accomplish, I found the book to be a bit dry.  Using this book as a jumping off point for discussion makes sense to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this interesting read.

#OnThePlayground #NetGalley