"I am dark.
I am pale.
In summer,
I'm different colors.
I like to look at animals,
but I am nervous around animals."
Our children need to know they are not defined by one attribute; rather, many. When the young Indian American girl who narrates this book is asked, "What are you?", she thinks deeply before answering the question. In doing so, she makes many significant observations about herself.
She begins with being human, and moves on to talk about her place in family: a daughter, a granddaughter, even a mother to her 'stuffies'. As the book moves forward, she talks about eating habits, skin color, fears, feelings, interests, and so on. She is not always the same.
"I have so much.
I don't have enough.
I am selfish.
I am generous.
I am mean.
I am kind."
Ms. Srinivasan wrote this book based on a real scenario that included her sister who was asked the question by a rude woman in a restroom, and was quick to realize the question was about race ... obviously an insult. The scene stayed with her sister and was soon a topic of conversation between the two. The book itself begs the question of all of us, "How would you respond?" In sharing the answers with our children, we offer opportunities for them to think critically about all those things that make them who they are. We all have multiple identities; it is important to consider each one of them. The longer the question is considered, the more opportunity to think on what makes us who we are. This book is a celebration of that.
The author's note is worthy of your attention.
We are all more than we can say.
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