January 1, 2021
Gr 1-3-Laxmi is a South Asian girl, sporting dark hair, tan skin, and tiny dark hairs above her upper lip. Her mooch, or mustache, becomes the topic of conversation one day at school, causing Laxmi to become extremely self-conscious about all of her body hair. At home, Laxmi asks her parents about her mooch; they, in return, quell Laxmi's insecurities by comparing her to other beautiful people and creatures who have hair elsewhere than their heads. The next day, Laxmi proudly displays her mooch, inviting her classmates to celebrate their own-real or not-along with her. Beautifully illustrated using a wide array of colors, Laxmi's world is filled with people of many skin shades, body types, and cultural backgrounds. The images pair delightfully with the text, propelling the story forward and connecting readers to Laxmi and her life. Additionally, Laxmi invites readers into her story at the beginning and the end, breaking the fourth wall and making children feel seen in a safe, friendly way. Mid-length text makes this story well suited to kids, whether as a read aloud or an independent read. Hindi words blend seamlessly into the dialogue, requiring no translation; however, these words also appear on the endpapers with accompanying visuals to reiterate this potentially new vocabulary. VERDICT Readers of all ages will appreciate the message of self-love presented within Laxmi's story, which takes on body positivity for a relatively young audience in an uplifting way.-Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver P.L.
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from March 15, 2021
Preschool-Grade 1 *Starred Review* Laxmi, an Indian American girl, kicks off this story of affirmation by introducing herself--"Hi!"--along with her mooch, the faint hair above her lip, which she invites readers to take a closer look at. Laxmi discovered her mooch at recess, when a blonde girl playfully suggested that Laxmi should be a cat because of her whiskers. This made her deeply self-conscious, noticing little hairs all over her body, and Ali captures the anxiety through the girl's expressive eyes and posture as she hides her mooch, while a crowd of imagined word bubbles of people whispering "meow" presses in around her. Back home--where both the text and art color scenes with Indian culture--she shares her distress, but her mom and dad, both rocking mooches, assure her that she descends from a long, proud line of women with moochay. "Everyone has a mooch, really." Next recess, Laxmi spots the faint hairs coloring her blonde friend's upper lip--to her delight. When another boy asks about his mooch, the girls can't find a hint of mustache, so he lines up, along with every other moochless child, to have Laxmi draw one on his face. Anand's story is simple and purposeful, but it's a much-needed purpose, sweetly delivering a message of body positivity around a common insecurity that is rarely addressed.
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Starred review from December 15, 2020
Laxmi, an Indian American elementary school student, has a mooch. A mooch, Laxmi explains, is a sprinkling of hairs on her upper lip; it's also the Hindi word for mustache. Laxmi is unaware of her mooch until her friends Zoe and Noah point it out during recess. At first, Laxmi is mortified--especially when she realizes she doesn't have fine, dark hairs just on her top lip but all over her whole body. At the end of the day, she runs home to her parents, who react to her distress with humor and compassion. Mummy explains that Laxmi comes from generations of women with mooches. When Laxmi complains about the hair between her eyebrows, her parents compare her to feminist icon Frida Kahlo. Laxmi is still upset, but that night she dreams of tigers, and, appropriately, in the morning she has a whole new attitude--about herself and about her hair. Debut author Anand skillfully balances humor with sincerity, crafting a narrator who is both vulnerable and powerful, while Ali contributes sunny-humored illustrations that place the appealingly chubby, brown-skinned girl at the center of a diverse classroom headed by a hijabi teacher. Laxmi's journey is both accessible and authentic, and it is a true pleasure to watch her not only embrace her own body, but also teach her classmates how to embrace theirs as well. A picture glossary of the Hindi vocabulary used appears on the endpapers. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch spreads viewed at 22.5% of actual size.) Fabulous, funny body positivity. (Picture book. 3-8)
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