The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman

The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman is picture book about a little boy from Somalia who moves to the U.S. and tries to adjust to his new life.  The illustrations for the book are done in vibrant watercolors (by Karin Littlewood) that truly capture the emotions of the main character, Hassan.  In the story, Hassan struggles with the sadness not only of leaving his home, but also of what he experienced in Somalia before coming to the U.S.  Through a Somali translator that comes to his school to work with him, Hassan is able to tell his story of leaving behind violence in Somalia in which his uncle is killed, living in a refugee camp in Mombasa and finally leaving behind his cousins and grandparents to move to the U.S., a country that "seemed all cold and gray."  Of course, this being a children's book, at the end of the story Hassan begins to come to terms with his new life and the colors of his new country begin to emerge.

Ideas for the ESL classroom:

• story elements
• problem and solution (what is Hassan's problem at the beginning of the story and how is it solved?), 
• comparing and contrasting (Somalia with America, students' own experiences with Hassan's, schools in the U.S. vs. other countries, food in the U.S. vs. home country) 
• character development and change (how does Hassan change and grow throughout the story?)
• the technique of story within a story can be explored, as Hassan tells about his life in Somalia within the story of his life in the U.S.
• transition words (next, then, the next day, that afternoon, tomorrow)
• adjectives (especially the use of color)
• Vocabulary that may be tricky for ELL's:
• verbs: shivered, smudged, spoiled, disappeared
• art vocabulary: easels, bottle' stick figures, smudged
• nouns: bundle, flock, creature, luggage, camp, stroller
• adjectives: murky, awful, frightened, spindly, maroon
• cultural vocabulary: hajab, qu'ran, prayer mat

An easy writing activity to respond to the story would be to ask students to write about their own experiences moving to the U.S.  This could be a journal-type activity or a more formal writing activity in which students take the piece through the writing process.  Younger students could paint a picture of their home country and write (or dictate to the teacher) a few words or a sentence describing their pictures.  Emphasis on the use of colors (as well as color vocabulary) would add another dimension.

Happy reading!
Jacquie