I AM BROWN

Brown children around the world celebrate their uniqueness and their ordinariness in this inclusive illustrated poem.

The poem ranges from the outer (“I am brown / I am beautiful / I am perfect”) to the inner (“I am love / I am friendship / I am happiness”); from titles (“I am a doctor / … / an athlete / … / a president”) to actions (“I make art / I design rocket ships / … / I solve crimes”). Together the text and accompanying pictures represent brown children in all their diversity. Each spread features a collection of children in various outfits and costumes who collectively or individually state where they come from (every continent except Antarctica), what languages they speak (a U.N. of tongues including Russian, Tamil, Chinese, and Arabic), what clothing they wear (“a shirt and a lungee”; “a business suit”), what foods they eat (noodles, vindaloo, steak, tagliatelle, etc.), what they like to do, where they pray (or don’t), and who they are (“your roommate / … / your friend / … / your teacher”). The global outlook is a refreshing corrective to often confining Western understandings. The final spread invites readers in with “I am brown / I am amazing / I am YOU.” Prabhat’s lovely, child-friendly artwork abounds in smiles and energy; the browns have a reddish undertone, and beige, blue-green, and orange-red patterns make for a warm palette.

This message of the normalcy and joy of being brown is upbeat and uplifting.