What a Wonderful World!

Image taken from Amazon.com

"I see trees of green, Red roses, too
I see them bloom, For me and you
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world!
I see skies of blue, And clouds of white
The bright blessed days and the dark, sacred nights
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world!
The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of the people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying,  "How do you do?"
They're really saying, "I love you!"
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
You know their gonna learn,
A whole lot more than I'll never know
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world!
Yes! I think to myself, What a wonderful world!"
-Sung by Louis Armstrong


I have to praise this book illustrated by Ashley Bryan. The pictures are so beautiful and the text is the song, "What a Wonderful World!" I can really picture this becoming a class book - one of those cherished touchstone books that is read over and over again and helps define the classroom community.  The fact that the class could also learn and sing the song together makes it that much more memorable!

Together with one of my classmates we hatched the idea of having students illustrate the song and then posting the entirety on the walls of the classroom.  Each student would have a lyric, such as "I see trees of green," to illustrate and then the whole song would hang around the walls -similar to how the alphabet is typically hung around a room.  Each child's unique piece of art would also contain a self-portrait because the child would be the subject of the lyric. This way, all the faces of the class would be displayed and honored.

There is, of course, also the wonderful fact that this song represents the artistic contributions of Louis Armstrong which opens a door to discussing music and art with students ... and the many contributions of Americans of all ethnic heritages to our common culture. The illustrations in the book are beautiful paintings of African American children and families in colorful surroundings rendered by an artist with a history of culturally competent work.

Art and music are pathways through which we can begin to discuss race and culture with children in the classroom. Children's own  artwork and the use of shared stories seem to me to be very powerful ways to build and honor classroom community and the uniqueness of each student's perspective. And, really, can children ever have too many reminders that they are what makes this a wonderful world? - I don't think so!