THE GREEDY RAINBOW

When the rainbow goes on a forest frolic with Monkey, all the colors begin to fade. Can Monkey and his friends get them back?

Monkey is perched atop the tallest tree in the forest when he spots the little rainbow, sitting in some leaves not far away. He tells the rainbow (which has two googly eyes and a little smile) to wrap itself around his tail. They climb down the tree, but as they do, flowers and leaves and even Monkey's fur begin to lose their colors. Monkey is too happy swinging from tree to tree to notice. By the time he reaches the forest floor, most of the surrounding color has faded, and the rainbow has grown big and heavy, reaching the tops of the trees. The entire rain forest is a dreary, uniform gray. "Look what you've done!" Monkey cries. The rainbow sees the lackluster landscape and feels very sad. It bursts into tears, and big wet drips of red, orange, blue, yellow, green, indigo, and violet splash into the forest and cover everything. The rainbow shrinks away, and everyone gets their colors back...though not the ones they had before. The dreamy design and slightly elevated prose are in harmony with Chandler's fable about sharing, diversity, and the nature of "color." A helpful addendum called "Next Steps" features follow-up questions for teachers.

Though unapologetically didactic, its lesson is nevertheless both valuable and deftly delivered.