Celebrating Differences

My Name Is Saajin Singh

Saajin loves his name he loves it so much that he sees it spelled out in the world around him in his snacks, in the sky and sometimes he even sings it aloud. On his first day of school, Saajin is excited to meet his new classmates, but things take a turn when the teacher mispronounces his name as Say-jin and he is not sure how or if he should correct her. After trying to live with the different version of his name for a while and some thoughtful conversations with his family about the meaning behind it, Saajin realizes the importance of reclaiming his name and embracing his identity. This empowering story, accompanied by energetic and vibrant art by Samrath Kaur, will resonate with any reader who has ever felt misunderstood.

Mophead

A moving graphic memoir of growing up Pasifika in New Zealand … At school, Selina is ridiculed for her big, frizzy hair. Kids call her ‘mophead’. She ties her hair up this way and that way and tries to fit in. Until one day, Sam Hunt plays a role, Selina gives up the game. She decides to let her hair out, to embrace her difference, to be WILD! Selina takes us through special moments in her extraordinary life. She becomes one of the first Pasifika women to hold a PhD. She reads for the Queen of England and Samoan royalty. She meets Barack Obama. And then she is named the New Zealand Poet Laureate. She picks up her special tokotoko, and notices something. It has wild hair coming out the end. It looks like a mop. A kid on the Waiheke ferry teases her about it. So she tells him a story.

Rainbow Hands

When a young boy paints his nails with his mom’s nail polish, he discovers the most important thing of all: the magic of being his true self.

As the long late summer day stretches ahead of them, a young boy eagerly looks forward to his favorite time—painting-your-nails time. He know that when he dips into those magical bottles of nail polish, he will discover a color to express his every mood and feeling. Purple is the color of magic and mystery. White is the color of endless possibilities. At times, his papa frowns and says, “What have you done to your nails?” At other times, he says, “Why don’t you paint on paper instead?” But the little boy knows that painting his nails makes his hands look beautiful.

This color-filled story celebrates the joy of finding out who you are and embracing the courage to be yourself.