Review By Alyssa Theurer
Synopsis
Mixed A Colorful Story, written and illustrated by Arree Chung embraces the beauty of mixed racial backgrounds and celebrates the diversity of race in a playful way for children to understand. Following a similar theme to the Disney movie, Elemental, the book delves into the topics of race, interracial marriage, the identities of biracial individuals, and the importance of unity rather than division. The city starts with only the colors red, yellow, and blue, all divided and ends with a beautiful assortment of diversity and unity of new colors like brown, pink, purple, teal, green, etc., displaying the colorful beauty inter-racial marriages can bring and the complex individuality of mixed individuals.
Anti-Bias Elements
Appeal & Relevance to Young Readers
Chung's story follows a similar and recognizable theme from the Disney movie Elemental. However, instead of the separation of the elements water, fire, earth, and air there is a separation of the colors red, yellow, and blue into separate neighborhoods: Redville, Blue Town, and Yellow Heights. The colorful images and easy-to-follow plot make the story interesting for children and allow the anti-bias message to be more deeply understood by its audience.
Effects on Children's Self and Social Identities
Growing up, I never saw mixed racial identities portrayed in the media, which led to feelings of inadequacy that I didn’t belong in any sort of racial group and was just supposed to "pick one" in order to fit in. However, Chung's story celebrates mixed identities for their complexity and something all their own, allowing children to create an identity unique to them. I wish this book were something I had read when I was young and struggling to make sense of my mixed identity. This book has allowed me to feel not invisible in the media for the first time, and I hope other mixed children feel the same way.
Empowering Relationships that Promote Anti-Bias Perspective
In the beginning of the book, colors were angry at Yellow and Blue for getting married, saying things like, “I don’t like Yellow’s effect on Blue” and “That Blue isn’t bright enough for my Yellow”(Chung 2019). However, after the couple had their child, Green, the other colors were fascinated by Green’s uniqueness. They opened their minds to inter-racial marriages and discovered the beauty and colorful diversity that comes from them. Yellow and Blue's relationship through marriage helps shed light on the discrimination that interracial couples face and promotes instead the beauty that comes from them.
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