Have you heard of colourism? I had not until I read this beautiful new book from Owlet Press.
Sunflower Sisters offers a window into the lived experiences of those affected by colourism, when people are treated differently because of the shade, tone and colour of their skin. At the back of this book there is a brilliant page explaining what colourism is, why it is bad and what we can to change this.
The most important message from this stunning picture book is a beautiful one
“Be someone’s sunflower. Loving one another for who we are is a great way to change the world.”
Best friends Amrita and Kiki are preparing for the weddings of their siblings. For Amrita, it is her sister’s special day. As family members start to arrive for the wedding preparations they make unwanted and outdated comments about the girls’ skin colour.
Suggesting that they do not sit in the sun so that they do not get a tan before the wedding.
Putting face cream on to make their skin bright and fair.
Telling them that they should not wear certain colours as they make their skin look darker.
I could not believe some of the comments or process that they were being made by a member of the girls’ own family.
Amrita’s Mum is not happy about the comments and she defends her daughters with love and pride. She tells Amrita and her sister that their skin is lovely just as it is. This Mum is raising her daughters to love themselves just as they are and to be confident in their own skin. This is a proud mother who stands up for her daughters, who raises them up and encourages them to do the same for each other.
Sunflower Sisters explores familial colourism through the generations of women in Amrita’s family. It shows how unkind words and outdated views can be harmful, and how we can all help to change the narrative and ensure that children see we are all beautiful and the colour of our skin does not change that. This story reminds us all that we should not change ourselves to please others, we should love ourselves just as we are and others should too.
I love the mother in this story. Standing up for her daughters. Ensuring they understand why people think the things they think and say the things that they say, but making sure her girls know that she does not share those views. She thinks the views of older family members are ridiculous. She wants her girls to grow to be strong, independent, confident women and she is laying the foundations for exactly that with such love and kindness and respect. A role model for mummies everywhere.
She teaches her daughters that the skin we are in is EXACTLY as it is meant to be.
I found this book a really emotional read. I felt angry and sad on behalf of Amrita and her sister, and I felt such love and admiration for the mum in the story.
One emotional moment in the story sees Amrita being told that she should not wear certain colours as it would make her skin look too dark. Again her Mum is there with love and reassurance and a story of her own childhood and her own mother. Here the bond between Amrita and her mum is shown in a field of sunflowers and their relationship being likened to a tall radiant sunflower looking up to the sun. Such a wonderful image and one of my favourite pages in this beautiful book.
In this story there are two families. The South Asian family of Amrita and the Nigerian family of Kiki.
The two weddings are full of vibrant colours, festive music and foods, dancing and cheering, love and joy. So much joy leaps from the pages of the wedding celebrations. We loved exploring the rich illustrations, looking at the amazing clothes and seeing the traditions of the different families. We want to learn more about weddings celebrations of South Asian and Nigerian communities.
Sunflower Sisters is the first in a new series of picture books by Monika Singh Gangotra which centres around best friends Amrita and Kiki. In this first story we see them promise to make sure they felt like sunflowers every day and we know that they never broke their promise. I cannot wait to read the next instalment of their story.
And in the meantime, we will remember to
“Be someone’s sunflower. Loving one another for who we are is a great way to change the world.”
I absolutely love this book. It is a breathtakingly beautiful book filled with sunflowers.
We had sunflowers at our wedding ten years ago and so this wonderful wedding story filled with sunflowers has won a special place in my heart.
I also know that this is going to be an important book for lots of children and their families.
Another brilliant inclusive own voices book from Owlet Press.
We are incredibly proud to have been asked to review this one and has given me the perfect excuse to share some pictures of my own sunflower wedding.
And this gorgeous sequin sunflower that Esther made today, after reading Sunflower Sisters, with a kit from Baker Ross
We were sent one copy of Sunflower Sisters for the purpose of this review
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