Sunflower Sisters

by Monika Singh Gangotra, Michaela Dias-Hayes (Illustrator)

Overview

A heartwarming celebration of all skin shades, from sun-browned to autumn-leaf-gold!

Amrita and Kiki are best friends and sunflower sisters. Amrita's older sister is getting married, but when the elder relatives arrive, they start dispensing some old-fashioned and dubious advice. Luckily, Amrita's mother has a lesson or two to teach about that! With the support and empowerment of their moms, the sunflower sisters are two strong, confident girls—one South Asian the other Nigerian—finding joy in their own skin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728252339
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

"An important, gorgeous book" — Booklist

"Brightly colored illustrations... addresses an issue not commonly brought up, that of colorism... in language kids can understand" — Youth Services Book Review

"The illustrations are beautiful, the diversity in characters are important, and the message about being different and beautiful are big attractions to this book...[A] gorgeous title" — Children's Literature Comprehensive Database

"A welcome celebration of the darker shades of brown skin" — Kirkus

From the Publisher

2022-04-13
A young girl encounters colorism.

Amrita is celebrating her sister Jas’ wedding on the same day that her neighbor and best friend, Kiki, is celebrating her brother Yemi’s wedding. Extended family joining in the celebrations reveal their traditional biases against dark skin by offering suggestions on how to lighten Amrita’s and Jas’ warm brown skin and attempting to dissuade Amrita from wearing a yellow outfit (because it might make her skin appear darker). Amrita’s mother later explains these outdated notions of beauty to her with gentle honesty, reassures her that “the skin we are in is EXACTLY as it is meant to be,” and encourages her to wear yellow (“just like the tall sunflowers”). Amrita’s family is cued as being from the Indian diaspora, and Kiki’s family is cued as being of African descent. Illustrations are vibrant, filled with festive celebrations and family members in various shades of brown wearing colorful traditional outfits. The text is at times clunky and uneven, but the empowering relationship between Amrita and her mother stands out, as does the friendship between Amrita and Kiki as they promise to be sunflower sisters. The book is realistic and authentic and may be a useful conversation starter on colorism. A brief author’s note offers more context on colorism and how we can fight it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Tackling a topic not often discussed in picture books, this is a welcome celebration of the darker shades of brown skin. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews