What's a bindi?
Divya really doesn't understand why her mother thinks wearing a bindi is so important. Divya knows the other kids at school don't wear a bindi and she imagines in her own mind what would happen if she showed up at school with a bindi glowing between her eyes. It would be so embarrassing. She would feel so different. She wouldn't fit in. She wouldn't be accepted. But her mother really wants Divya to wear a bindi- to school. So, she asks her mother why a bindi is so important. The answer she gets is amazing. What will happen if she puts the bindi on and has to face her entire class at school to explain what she is wearing?
I wonder how many children listening to this story have ever heard the word bindi? Have they ever seen someone wear a bindi? How did they feel when they saw the bindi?
This book is about to create an explosion of understanding. It's also about to create an explosion of the possibility Who doesn't want to know they have something really, really powerful that can see inside them and protect them?
By the time you finish reading this story, you are going to wish you had a box of beautiful bindis for yourself...so you can choose a different one every day to stand guard over you, keep you safe, and unleash all that amazing potential inside of you.
A beautiful story that takes us into the world of children who grow up in a culture that can be unfamiliar to other children. A beautiful story that shows us how it is feels to be seen as being different, how to celebrate your own difference and how others can learn to understand, accept and respect everyone's cultural heritage - because we all have something really amazing to share.
40 pages 978-1338598810 Ages 4-8
Keywords: cultural identity, bindi, South Asian American, being different, heritage, peer pressure, fitting in, belonging, mother/daughter, respecting others, self image, self esteem, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old, Social Emotional Learning
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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In this universal story about embracing who we are and where we come from, a young girl finds the magic, power, and history of wearing a bindi for the first time, in this moving and lyrical picture book debut from Gita Varadarajan.
There in the mirror, I see a shining star.
My mother’s joy, my father’s pride.
And then I see something else:
I see me.
Divya is scared to put on the bindi for the first time. What if she gets made fun of? What will it feel like? But Amma assures her that her bindi will bring protection. After Divya looks inside Amma’s special box to find the perfect bindi to put on, she gazes in the mirror and discovers a new side of herself, and it gives her strength.
In this tender debut picture book, author Gita Varadarajan crafts a powerful story about belonging, embracing your heritage, and believing in yourself. Archana Sreenivasan's vibrant and magical illustrations bring to life this journey of self-discovery. My Bindi is a universal message of the importance finding oneself and celebrating the unique beliefs and experiences that make us who we are.---from the publisher
