Author Divya Thomas on overturning flawed narratives to shape a kinder, more inclusive outlook

The narrative in many parts of the world, of light skin being more beautiful has always felt unfair to me. My work with raising the voices of young girls in India, only served to reinforce the prejudice that adolescents have to overcome. I was inspired to create a new narrative to give young readers language to address colourism, with illustrations to see themselves represented in all shades. 

I hope to instil the importance of children accepting and loving themselves for who they are. My aim is for young readers to feel seen, beautiful and confident in their skin and all aspects of themselves that make them unique.

The main challenge was to put the message across in simple, catchy and down to earth language that didn’t preach to young readers. I spent quite a bit of time speaking to children between the ages of 5 to 10 years old to understand how they saw themselves and integrated some of their thoughts and words into the book.

The feedback has been tremendous. From winning the FICCI Award for Best Children’s Book in 2023 and making it onto the Parag Honours list, to being invited to speak at book festivals, libraries and schools, this little book has struck a chord with readers and educators in India.

Five thousand copies of the book have been sold across two print runs, and I’ve had the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations and workshops with hundreds of more young readers.

“I Am So Much More…” is something that I think we should all believe. More than the colour of our skin, more than the shape of our bodies, more than where we are from, more than what we are told we can accomplish or how far we can go. We are all MORE than what meets the surface, and what we are within is what makes us powerful.

I spend a lot of time in solitude, to write, rewrite, edit, and repeat till it feels like everything I want to say is being said in the most succinct way possible.

That moment when a lightbulb goes off in a young reader – when they see themselves in the pages of the book and identify themselves proudly as the colour of “clay, sand, peaches” has been heart expanding. Parents have written in to appreciate the message and a book that they can read to their children to reinforce confidence. It has been wonderful. 

I hope that we can change the narrative together, to be able to appreciate ourselves and each other for who we are rather than what we look like. I believe that young people have the power to shape a kinder and more inclusive future.