Rainbow Hands byt
Nainy, M. (2022). Rainbow hands. Lantana Publishing Ltd. (J. Loring-Fisher, Illustrator) ISBN 9781912747749
In a world full of possibilities, one boy finds a way to become his most authentic self through painting his nails. With an endless array of colors provided by his mom, he is now able to show exactly how he feels by correlating his emotions to his newly painted fingers.
Rainbow Hands was a charming and fast read. The imagery used paints a colorful picture that gives you a clear image of exactly what the main character feels, and the colors the main character paints his nails perfectly match the imagery. Even when others, such as the main character's dad, do not approve of him painting his nails, he makes it known that he disagrees with his dad's opinion by painting his nails red, aka the color of fire ants. There are so many ways that people, young and old, express their emotions, and not all the ways are the best ways. Painting one's nails is an activity that is harmless to everyone, and if it makes you happy, you should go for it! In this case, that is exactly what the main character does. He stays true to his most authentic self and continues to express his emotions by painting his nails because that makes him happy. He does not give in to the peer pressure or the judgment he may receive from others, and ultimately, he chooses to be himself instead of someone else for other people.
The illustrations in this book are stunning and eye-catching for the reader. What I like is that for each page, the main character paints their nails in the page color. For example, when the main character is describing the reason why his nails are painted the "brightest yellow" (because of the velvety bees, the smiling sunflowers, and the blinding color of the sun), the primary color of the illustrations are various shades of yellow that help support the imagery. Additionally, the imagery itself (without the illustrations) paints a powerful picture that the illustration adds to. On each page (and new color), the main characters' nails are also painted in whatever color they choose to highlight on that page, no matter how noticeably visible (or not visible) the nails are.
Rainbow Hands follows the story of a nameless, ageless Indian boy. While it is not explicitly stated that the boy is Indian, it is hinted that the boy is Indian through his complexion and illustrations throughout the book, such as the silhouette of the Taj Mahal in the background of the color purple or an elephant toy the boy has when he is describing the color orange. Additionally, at the end of the book, there is a group picture of the main character holding hands with his family, and his grandpa and mom are wearing traditional Indian attire. Finally, the main character refers to his grandpa as "Dadaji," the Indian translation of the English word grandfather. The clues are there, and if you are purposefully not looking for them, you may overlook them, but they do add to a charming story.
After reading Rainbow Hands, you can also create your own version of your own Rainbow Hands! If you do not have the same nail polishes available to you that the main character had, that is okay. What you can do is trace your hands and "paint" your nails using your crayons or markers. You can also discuss with the reader (or yourself) what colors correlate with your emotions. Is happiness still yellow? Is anger or frustration red? How do your colors compare to the main characters?
What do readers think of Rainbow Hands? While no professional reviews could be found for the book, I did find a review from five-year-old Maryam (location unknown), who said, "I liked all the colors, but the green page was my favorite... I like painting my nails in sparkly colors as well." Maryam's mom added to the conversation by saying, "We liked the representation of this book, we are Indian by ethnicity and it was great to see familiar words, clothes and skin colour of the characters." If you enjoyed this book, you may also like Sparkle Boy by Leslea Newman.
Awards and Honors for Rainbow Hands:
- Read Across America Book of the Month, June 2024
- Yoto Carnegie Medal Nomination 2023
- USBBY Outstanding International Book 2023
- BookTrust Great Books Guide 2022
- The Guardian, Children's Book of the Month July 2022
- Inclusive Books for Children Top Pick
Latana. (n.d.). Rainbow hands. Lantana. https://www.lantanapublishing.com/books/2-5-years/rainbow-hands
Tyson, S., & Maryam. (2022, March 28). Kid’s book review: Rainbow hands. Books Up North. https://booksupnorth.com/kids-book-review-rainbow-hands/
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