『でも、かれはちがいます！』 子供のためのオーディオブック
英語で読める “But He is Different!” の絵本
But He is Different!
Page 1
It was a beautiful day in Waikiki, Hawaii. Steve, a native of Oklahoma, really liked Waikiki and Gold Beach. He could swim and watch people surf every single day. After 2 months of living here, it was finally time to start school. Soon, he was going to meet his new classmates at Waikiki Eastern Elementary school.
Page 2
Steve was only 6 years old, and he was more interested in making new friends than learning how to read and write. It was a beautiful, sunny Monday morning, and the teacher, Mrs. Robinson, took everyone out to the park. She said “Play time, everybody! Pick your partners because you’re going to build sandcastles together. The pair who finishes first wins!”
Page 3
Because Steve had only lived in Waikiki for 2 months, he had no friends. He was looking forward to finding a partner. He wanted his partner to be a boy, not a girl. Also, he never had any African American or Asian friends before, so he did not want a partner who looked different from him. But most of the kids already had their partners, so Mrs. Robinson paired Steve with Malcolm, whose father was Jamaican and mother was Hawaiian.
Page 4
Steve was quiet, and he was pouting. He did not want to play with Malcolm because Malcolm looked different. Steve did everything slowly. “Hurry up, we’re going to lose!” said Malcolm. Steve did not say anything. He just slowly filled the bucket with sand. Soon, another team screamed “We’re done!” Steve and Malcolm had lost. And they were the only ones who did not finish their castle.
Page 5
Mrs. Robinson realized what is going on. Steve did not want to be friends with anyone who looked different. She wanted Steve to learn that we all are special, and we can enjoy life more when we make lots of friends. Mrs. Robinson wanted Steve to know that it was rude to stay away from some classmates because of their differences. She wanted him to learn that even though we are different on the outside, on the inside, we are all the same. Also, she wanted him to know that he would have a really boring life if all of his friends were just like him.
Page 6
The next day, Mrs. Robinson brought 2 eggs to the class. She asked, “Are these eggs the same?” Steve raised his hand. He said, “They are not! The one on the left is darker.” Mrs. Robinson said, “Guess what? They both are eggs from my own chicken. I took them out of the nest this morning. The one the right is a bit darker on the outside. But are they different on the inside? Then, the teacher asked Steve to come to the front of the class and break the eggs into two bowls.
Page 7
After Steve broke the eggs, Mrs. Robinson brought all of the students to the front of the class. She asked them, “What do you see?” One student said, “I see the yellow yolks!” Another said, “I see the egg whites around the yolks!” Then, Mrs. Robinson asked, “Which one is from the dark egg?” All of the students had seen Steve break the dark egg into the bowl on the left, so that’s the one they pointed at.
Page 8
After that, Mrs. Robinson took both bowls, and she turned around. She switched the bowls back and forth a few times, Then, she turned around again, and she put the bowls back on her desk. Then, she asked, “Which one is from the dark egg?” This time, some students pointed at the bowl on the left. Others pointed at the bowl on the right. Mrs. Robinson saw that Steve was not pointing at a bowl. She asked, “What do you think, Steve? Which one is from the dark egg?” Steve thought for a few seconds, and then he said, “I don’t know. They look the same!”
Page 9
The next class was art. Mrs. Robinson said, “Martin Luther King Day is coming soon. I want you to color these worksheets any way you like.” She handed out the worksheets and gave each student a box of crayons. Steve was excited because he wanted to draw a colorful picture. But when he opened the box, he saw that all of his crayons were blue. He looked around, and he saw that all of the other students had lots of different colored crayons. Steve called out, “Mrs. Robinson! My box has only one color of crayon.” Mrs. Robinson went to Steve’s desk. She said, “Hmm. You’re right. Come with me. We will find a box with a lot of colored crayons.”
Page 10
Mrs. Robinson took Steve outside the class. She gave him a box full of different colored crayons. Then, she pointed at the students in the classroom. Steve could see all of them through the window. Mrs. Robinson said, “All of the students are like the colors of the crayons in a box. You didn’t like having only one blue crayon. That was boring. Imagine how boring your life would be if everyone was exactly the same.” Then, she took Steve back inside the room. Steve happily drew a very colorful picture. He made sure to use every color or crayon in the box!
Page 11
Steve understood his mistake; he knew that Mrs. Robinson wanted him to make friends with all of the students, not just the ones who looked like him. But Steve still was not ready to play with kids who he thought were different. It was because his grandmother had told him that he should only trust people who looked like him. Steve thought, “Was Grandma wrong?”
Page 12
After art class, it was snack time. All of the children had brought fruit from home for their snacks. Mrs. Robinson said, “Take out your fruit. And today, I have a surprise for you. I have this whole bag of fresh oranges! I have one for each of you. All the kids were really happy! They all yelled, “YEAHHHH!” Mrs. Robinson said, “Don’t peel your oranges, yet. Just study them carefully for 2 minutes. Look at them, touch them. Compare them with your classmates’ oranges. Try to find the special things about your oranges.”
Page 13
After 2 minutes, Mrs. Robinson said, “OK. Put all of your oranges back in the bag. Let’s play a game.” After all of the students put their oranges in the bag, Mrs. Robinson took the bag to a big table. Then, she took the oranges out. She said to the students, “Now, come here and find your oranges.” The kids went to the table. At first, they could not find their own oranges; they all looked the same.
