- Tiny Tales, Big Ideas

The Recipe for Rainbow Soup: Decomposition Made Simple

Takes young readers on a colorful farm adventure with Clover the bunny and Peep the chick, who must rebuild Sunny Farm’s lost soup recipe by breaking a big problem into smaller parts. In the process, they discover an essential computer science concept—decomposition—while gathering ingredients for each color of the rainbow.

What's Inside

Engaging, Kid-Friendly Story: Join Clover and Peep as they turn a storm-torn recipe into a rainbow of flavors, providing an entertaining introduction to breaking tasks down step by step.
Interactive Learning Moments: Follow along with mini-challenges and discussions about each color’s unique ingredient, encouraging readers to think about how smaller steps form a bigger whole.
Vibrant Illustrations: Delightful, farm-themed art brings the fields, orchards, and animals to life—perfect for read-aloud sessions, group storytime, and cozy bedtimes.
Sneaky STEM Concept: Children learn the basics of decomposition—a fundamental principle in computer science—through a playful narrative that emphasizes problem-solving, teamwork, and curiosity.
Dyslexia-Friendly Font: Printed in Lexend, a font designed to support dyslexic and reluctant readers, ensuring an inclusive reading experience for all.

Whether you’re a parent seeking a joyful way to introduce computational thinking, a teacher looking to expand your classroom STEM resources, or a homeschool family exploring essential tech skills, The Recipe for Rainbow Soup offers a gentle, imaginative pathway into one of computing’s foundational ideas.

Join Clover and Peep as they discover how each color—like each step in a project—makes a big goal more manageable. By the final page, readers see how even the most daunting tasks can be solved, one piece at a time.

Grab your copy today and step into a world where bunnies, chicks, and tiny hints of computer science make problem-solving both delicious and fun!

About Tiny Tales, Big Ideas

At Tiny Tales, Big Ideas, we believe in sparking big imaginations through accessible, engaging stories. Founded by a passionate licensed public school teacher, our series translates complex STEM concepts into fun narratives that resonate with diverse classrooms and homes alike. Perfect for students, educators, and families, these books prove that educational magic can begin with the turn of a page.

About the Author

Brian Duryea is a dedicated public educator who has introduced thousands of students to the wonders of computer science. Motivated by the desire to make complex topics engaging for learners of all ages, he created the Tiny Tales, Big Ideas series as a friendly on-ramp to STEM concepts. Brian’s stories bring coding principles like decomposition to life, providing a memorable reference point for the curious, the creative, and everyone in between.

Using The Recipe for Rainbow Soup in the Classroom

In the classroom, here are some ideas on how to use this book:

Read Aloud: Share the story to illustrate how Clover and Peep tackle big tasks by breaking them down.
Personal Connection: Ask students to recall a time they felt overwhelmed, linking their experience to the story’s step-by-step approach.
Observation: Have them note how each color in the soup represents solving a smaller part of a bigger problem.
Discussion: Talk about how focusing on one flavor at a time helps rebuild the recipe.
Creative Activity: Encourage students to color or illustrate ingredients, reinforcing the idea of decomposition.
Real-Life Examples: Brainstorm tasks (e.g., studying or planning) that also benefit from a step-by-step strategy.
Group Project: Design a “Rainbow Soup” task, assigning each student one ingredient to complete.
Reflection: Emphasize how teamwork and methodical thinking turn large challenges into manageable steps.

Helping Kids See the Power of Decomposition

Decomposition is all about breaking a big problem into smaller, solvable parts—just like breaking a recipe into its individual components. The concept is generally obvious in our daily lives, but new coders and those interested in Computer Science are often quickly overwhelmed by the breadth of the problems they’re trying to solve. If they can learn the fundamental principles of decomposition, they’ll succeed even at the most daunting tasks.

In The Recipe for Rainbow Soup: Decomposition Made Simple, teachers can show how Clover and Peep’s colorful quest parallels the problem-solving process in Computer Science. Each color represents a smaller piece of a larger task, mirroring how programmers isolate one function or segment of code at a time. By guiding students to compare the story’s step-by-step approach with programming activities—like breaking a software task into modules or creating smaller, testable chunks—educators can reinforce that decomposition is more than just a literary device. It’s a fundamental strategy that helps learners avoid getting bogged down by complexity, stay organized, and tackle big projects with clarity and confidence.

Questions that turn this tiny tale into a big idea

How did Peep and Clover break down the problem of recreating the Rainbow Soup?
Why was it easier for them to make a big problem a bunch of smaller problems?
Not all analogies are perfect; what would you change about this analogy to understand decomposition better?
Retell the story of The Recipe for Rainbow Soup and tell how it relates to breaking big problems into smaller parts.
What are some real-life problems you face that become easier when you break them into smaller pieces?