From the Publisher:
A child who looks different from her mother finds beauty and belonging in this new book from the creator of New York Times bestseller I Sang You Down from the Stars
Izzy’s favorite place to be is in Mama’s arms—skin to skin, safe and warm. One night, cuddled up on Mama’s lap, Izzy notices something she’s never noticed before: her skin is the color of chocolate, but Mama’s skin is the color of sand.
When Izzy realizes she’s different from Mama in other ways, too, she feels sad and confused. She wants to be beautiful like Mama! But Mama addresses Izzy’s disappointment with a gentle, loving refrain: You’re part of me, and I’m part of you. I’m beautiful like me, and you’re beautiful like you. Finding lessons from nature and repeating her affirming message, Mama encourages Izzy to see her own unique beauty.
This story about a multiracial child navigating identity and belonging draws from author Tasha Spillett-Sumner’s own experience growing up as an Afro-Indigenous girl. Lyrical text and warm, lively illustrations show Izzy’s journey as she learns to celebrate the differences that make her uniquely beautiful, and the connection to her mother that transcends physical traits.
My Thoughts:
I visited my father in Minneapolis last week and he shared a story about picking up his granddaughter from school, Charlie Kai. My dad is half Japanese and half native Hawaiian. My stepmother is Norwegian, so Charlie Kai's mom, my sister is half Norwegian, 1/4 Hawaiian and 1/4 Japanese. Charlie Kai's dad is a mixture of ethnicities, but all of them Caucasian/white. Charlie Kai, then looks white. So when my dad, her grandfather stopped at the school to pick up Charlie, the educational aide looked at all the little preschoolers waiting to go home and just could not find any Asian or part Asian kids. He had to call her by name and she came running but I wonder if the educational aid had to make a quick decision to believe a 4-year old that this was indeed her Papa because nothing in Charlie looks like she belongs to my dad (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, coloring. . .)
This book is for the multitude of mixed race children who do not always look like their families. It talks about love beyond looks.
Ways to use this in the middle school classroom:
- mentor text about identity
- discussion text about family
- starter text for a YA novel about unique families
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