When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Tan, sienna, topaz, or tamarind? Poet Malathi Michelle Iyengar sees a whole spectrum of beautiful shades of brown. Swirls of henna decorate ochre hands and feet at an Indian wedding. Cinnamon lips smile over a cup of café con leche. And crunchy leaves drift like stars onto upturned russet faces in fall.
This warm and inviting poetry collection helps young readers discover that no matter what your skin tone, every shade is beautiful. Jamel Akib’s pastel illustrations bring the richness of brown to vivid, colorful life.
Malathi Michelle Iyengar grew up in North Carolina. She holds a Master’s degree in Music from the California Institute of the Arts and a Master’s in Education, and currently teaches at a public elementary school where she is happy to see lots of beautiful brown faces every day. Malathi lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and daughter.
Jamel Akib was born in England and grew up in Malaysia. He is an illustrator whose award-winning work has appeared in children's books, magazines, and advertisements in the United States and abroad. He lives in England with his wife and children.
- 2009 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Honor Book
- 2010 Américas Award, Commended Title
- 2011 California Collections Recommended Title
“Brown is beautiful in all its shades of skin color and in what children see, feel, taste, smell, and touch everywhere. Illustrated with pastel pictures in warm autumn colors, both dark and light, the simple poems celebrate the diversity and the connections in nature, culture, place, and language among blacks, Latinos, Indians, Native Americans, and many mixed-race kids. All the names for brown—from tan and sienna to honey, beige, and ocher—show the wonder of the senses: the tastiness of cocoa (the dark, sweet chocolate of the drink and of the hands that hold the cup), the crunchiness of autumn leaves, the big view of reddishbrown rocks and mountains in the Southwest, the brown topaz stone on the ring finger of a mother’s brown hand. The joyful graphic details range from the ocher-brown mehendi design on an Indian bride’s hands to an adobe home on the windswept desert. In a note, Iyengar remembers hating her brown skin as a child; her book shows how lucky she feels now.” –Booklist
"Iyengar’s poetry trickles down in sweetness like golden brown honey in the sunlight and makes it clear, without protest, that brown is simply beautiful." –PaperTigers
"This exploration of the diversity within the spectrum of brown is a lovely tribute to the color." –School Library Journal
"From sienna to sepia, bay to beige, Ms. Iyengar's warm words and Mr. Akib's inviting illustrations celebrate the spectrum of shades of brown." –Kahani Magazine
"A joyful celebration of all sorts of brown-tinted skin colors. . ." –The Bloomsbury Review
