Title – The Skin You Live In
Author(s) – Michael Tyler
Illustrator/Photographer – David Lee Csicsko
Publisher and Year – Chicago Children’s Museum, April 1, 2005
Number of pages – 32 pages
Tags/Themes – Rylie Loux, Culture, Diversity, Emotion, Family, Friendship, Poetry, K-5
Genre – Poetry
Descriptive Annotation: This story is a story which explores the concept of skin to encourage self-esteem and to celebrate the ways in which children are both unique and similar. This story uses different activities, metaphors, and examples to show children that everyone is valuable.
Classroom Application: This book can be used in the classroom to to teach children about diversity, cultures other than their own, accepting themselves the way that they are and accepting others. An important quote from the story is “Glows when it shows that it knows we love you skin.” This is an opportunity to compare skin tones and talk about how they are all beautiful. Another way to incorporate this into learning would be to have each student write something that they love about themselves as well as all of their classmates. This creates an inclusive classroom and allows the students to express what they love about each other.
Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: This story delivers an important message of social acceptance to young readers. On one page, the author portrays an African American little girl with the text “Hey, look at your skin” and on the next page is a Caucasian boy doing the exact same thing with text saying “The wonderful skin YOU live in.” This quote related to the themes that are presented including are friendship, acceptance, self-esteem, and diversity. There are also children’s activities for all cultures, such as swimming in the ocean, hugging, catching butterflies, and eating birthday cake. The major theme of this book is body positivity, and encouraging the idea that even though we all look different, we are all worthy.