Our Colourful World

Our Colourful World is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 9 about the many shapes, sizes and colours of the things Allah created, from flowers, birds and butterflies to people, and how each one is beautiful by itself and more beautiful together.

A child goes on outings with the family. At the florist with Mum, they cannot choose a favourite among all the flowers, some big with small leaves and some small with big leaves. At a bird garden with Dad, they see birds with long beaks, long legs or colourful wings, and simple birds of a single colour. With Grandma, it is a butterfly garden full of wings big and small; with Grandpa, a concert where the piano, the violin, the flute and the drums each sound good by themselves.

Every time, the grown-up says the same thing: each one is beautiful by itself, but together they are more beautiful and make the world a better place. At last, in painting class at kindergarten, the child wants to paint a world as colourful as the class, and the teacher says it about people too: every human being is beautiful, whatever their colour, language or religion, and together we make the world a better place.

It is a gentle first book about difference, with a line that repeats on every page so that young children can say it too. It is by Golnar Servatian, takes about two minutes to read aloud and is music-free.

A child went on outings with the family, and heard the same thing from each grown-up.

With Mum, the child went to a florist. They could not choose a favourite flower among all those beautiful ones. Some were big with small leaves, and some were small with big leaves. Mum said that each flower was beautiful by itself, but that together they were more beautiful, and made the world a better place.

With Dad, the child went to a bird garden, and did not want to leave, because the child loved birds. Every single one was different. Some had long beaks, long legs or colourful wings, and some were simple, with just one colour. Dad said that each bird was beautiful by itself, but that together they were more beautiful, and made the world a better place.

With Grandma, it was a butterfly garden. The butterflies were so beautiful, colourful and different: some had big wings, and some had small ones. Grandma said that each butterfly was beautiful by itself, but that together they were more beautiful, and made the world a better place.

With Grandpa, the child went to a concert. The piano sounded perfect, and so did the violin. Even the flute sounded amazing, and the child liked how the drums sounded too. Grandpa said that all the instruments sounded beautiful by themselves, but that together they were more beautiful, and made the world a better place.

Then came painting class at kindergarten, and the child wanted to paint a world as colourful as the class. The teacher said that all human beings are beautiful, whatever their colour, language or religion, but that together we are more beautiful, and make the world a better place.