Momo celebrating time to read: I am Lupe by Sela Ahosivi-Atiola illustrated by Yani Agustina

"I look different from everyone else. I have curly black hair just like my dad. I have deep brown eyes just like my mum."

"Unlike most of the other kids, I wasn't born here. I was born in a kingdom nestled in the heart of the South Pacific ... "

"What are you? Are you this? Are you that? Do you come from here? Do you come from there?"

My friend adopted her daughter from Bolivia in 1994 and I know she finds questions like these very frustrating and intrusive, and they are real questions she is constantly asked. Lupe was born Tonga. Lupe doesn’t look like the other girls at her Australian school. The feelings at the heart of this book will be recognised by many children and hopefully this book will also build empathy in others.

Lupe decides to ask her mum - and she offers some quiet wisdom.

"You are many wonderful things." A daughter, a big sister, a friend. You are kind, you are fearless and brave and smart. You are special and beautiful.

"You are enough."

In a world where snap judgements are all too often based on appearance, Lupe and her parents teach valuable lessons around the rich and complex nature of identity. Some things cannot be seen but it is those qualities within that truly define a person. A Word about Books

I Am Lupe is a warm, gentle, reassuring picture book with a quiet resonance that’s bound to shift how its readers perceive themselves and others. For readers who see themselves in Lupe – who feel or are made to feel different from their peers for whatever reason – this book has a beautiful and vital message of self-acceptance and self-belief. Better Reading

Messages of diversity, acceptance and knowing your good points, all essential to the identity each person claims, come through with simplicity and warmth. Beautiful full-page images appear on a double spread with one side accommodating the text. The illustrations are in vibrant colours reflecting the children’s emotions. Even without the words, it is easy to identify what the characters are thinking and saying. This book offers a superb opportunity to open discussion between adults and children, teachers and students, on difference and diversity, as that is the pride of this wonderful country. Kids' Book Review

Sela Ahosivi-Atiola is a Tongan Australian writer, early childhood educator and mother, based in Sydney. Here is a brief interview with Sela. Yani Agustina is an illustrator from Singapore. Here are some detailed teachers notes from the publisher web page written by Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright.

I am certain we will see this book listed for our 2024 CBCA awards either in the Picture Book or Early Childhood categories.

Take a look at my Pinterest entitled "She looks like me". Companion books: