I Am Brown

“Banker and Prabhat have created an exuberant celebration of brownness in a child-sized picture book context. The presentation of the text is simple; it is a list poem that begins with the titular declaration of brown identity. Through the book, we see a little brown girl with unforgettable flying pigtails, as well as a rich array of brown kid figures, demonstrating love and friendship, occupations, national origins, languages, facial hair or the lack of it, eye color, homes, interests, food preferences, and clothes. Two-thirds of the way through the book, we find a spread with examples of relationships that commonly exist in communities—a friend and partner, a teacher, a driver, a guru, and more. Then we return to two final ways in which difference can be celebrated: religion and accomplishments. For the former, the author shows a variety of places of worship; the latter includes drawing a picture, building a building, and running a company (and a race). In the bottom right corner of the penultimate spread, we turn the page to reveal a triumphant set of words: “I wrote this book.” The final spread speaks directly to the reader, stating: “I am YOU.” The palette, brown-red-orange with vivid blue and green contrasts, infuses the whimsical art with warmth. This would be a good companion book to All the World by Liz Garton Scanlan." —Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)

“Clearly intended to counter the negative messages that dark-skinned children encounter early in their lives, the book bursts with love and energy, in the images and in the words.”—Booklist

“Beginning with a child sporting exuberant puffball pigtails and broadening into a community of brown-skinned children, the figures in this joyful picture book love the skin they’re in.”—Publishers Weekly

“The global outlook is a refreshing corrective to often confining Western understandings. . . .This message of the normalcy and joy of being brown is upbeat and uplifting.”—Kirkus Reviews