On shame, representation, and young readers

When the world feels heavy (and any type of way, if I'm honest!), I turn to books.

Stories have always offered me hope, connection, and joy—especially those that reflect layered experiences of identity and belonging.

And since becoming a mum, one of my most cherished experiences has been sharing my love of books with my son, V. I’ve loved reading to and with him since he was tiny–in fact, when I gathered friends to celebrate my pregnancy nearly 9 years ago, my only request was to bring their favorite kids’ books. So V had a full library even before he was born! And now that he's eight years old I love seeing him read and discover stories on his own. 

But there's one problem: it's been difficult to find stories that reflect the diversity of the city, country and world he lives in—and the depth and breadth of our own culture. 

Since he moved on from reading board books, we haven't found many stories featuring South Asian characters that look like him. Of course, no community is EVER a monolith, and because of the impact of colonialism, forced labor migrations, political instabilities, immigration etc….South Asian stories are incredibly diverse. They're also incredibly fascinating which always surprises me that we don't see more representation of that diversity in books (for young and adult readers!) 

At this time when the world is really grappling with understanding, empathy and respect across differences, one way I’ve tried to cultivate curiosity in my own child AND while talking to his friends, my nieces, my friends' kids and other young people in my life, is by recommending stories from different cultures. 

Diversity in kids’ books helps normalize so much at a time when young brains are being formed; from non-Western names and ways of living, eating, praying, loving and being. But there’s so much room from growth–this chart from The Cooperative Children’s Book Center highlights the opportunity ahead.

In 2023, 49 percent of the books the CCBC documented have significant BIPOC content — up from 46 percent in 2022.

One of the outcomes of not growing up with a diversity of characters in books I read is the shame I felt about myself. Because I almost exclusively read Western authors, I felt ashamed that my name was Ruchika, that I didn’t have pale skin or eat clotted cream and scones or (as I grew older) couldn’t talk about my crushes or see people who looked like me as leaders–that my family and people like me were so very different from what I read about, saw on TV, taught were "normal."  

That shame still carries on in my head, the voice is MUCH quieter than ever before, but never fully gone when I’m in Western spaces. I know that what has helped me navigate it in my adulthood is seeing more representation of the stories, bodies and ideas that feel familiar to me.

One of my biggest dreams is that every child in the world can grow up affirmed exactly as they are. And I know that stories are a key part of the puzzle in making this a reality.

When I shared my “adult” new book recommendations by South Asian authors for AAPI Heritage Month in my LinkedIn newsletter (please share your own recommendations in the comments!), I realized it was time for a deep dive in kids’ books too. 

Important note: You don’t have to have children or BE a child to read these incredible stories.

New resource: kids’ books by South Asian Authors

So with the help of my team we created a new resource: Kids' books by South Asian Authors, a community-created spreadsheet dedicated to book recommendations by and about the South Asian community. I hope you'll take a look, and seek out these titles from your local bookstores and libraries.

Most importantly, I hope you'll consider this spreadsheet yours and send me ideas to add your favorite kids books by South Asian authors to the list we've started! Please reply to this email with your favorites for young readers that we should add. 

Representation matters more than ever

While working on this list I learned that Penguin Randomhouse, the publisher of my book, Uncompete, is defending the right of school counties in a Supreme Court case to include books with LGBTQ themes in elementary schools. 

I’m glad my publisher is standing up for what is right, and I hope the results of this case support what you and I know well: that diversity is integral and a necessity to the human experience, and that representation, inclusion and belonging matter.

When so much around us feels hopeless and helpless, I fiercely believe that small acts of choice and resistance also matter: the books you CHOOSE to buy (especially from indie bookstores), the books you CHOOSE to read, what you CHOOSE to request from your library.

While each individual act may be tiny, their cumulative effect is powerful indeed.

In solidarity,

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