I just came across a picture book by Mendoza and Powers called Colors of the wind! No it’s not Pocahontes but it’s like it. It’s a tale about George Mendoza who recounts a childhood experience that drives his purpose today as an avid painter in Las Cruces, NM.

When I read the simple tale, it filled me with such joy. Imagine this little boy who suddenly loses his eye sight at 15 and enters a new world where he can only see light peripherally–such light so bright and colorful that only he sees what he sees ( a kaleidoscope of color). A young blind girl asks him what color is the wind and he remarks that it’s like a rainbow of colors. I start to imagine that rainbow of color, and I feel the power of the colors on the beautifully illustrated page. Wow! If only we could all see the wind! I am certainly going to begin to try.  Thank you George Mendoza for enlightening me forever more.

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You’ll learn things you never knew you never knew

(Excerpt from Colors of the Wind, Pocahontes, Disney)