Editor's Note: This review was originally published in
Los Angeles Book Review.
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Ashok Banker
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“We are brown. We are beautiful. We are perfect.” The opening declaration of Ashok Banker and Brittney Bond’s "Brown Girls Rule" is the ultimate empowerment mantra for all young girls who identify as Brown or Black. The book shows the multitude of ways of being a strong, smart, and confident Brown girl: from being the class president to leading adventures in nature. Brown girls can aspire to become artists, scientists, troop leaders, judges, musicians, athletes, and activists. Young girls support each other through sisterly solidarity to advance the causes that affect women and girls.
Research has shown that positive representation is critical in building and maintaining self-esteem among children. This beautifully illustrated book helps to accomplish that, by celebrating the immense possibilities of being Brown. Through her artwork, Bond captures the diversity of Brown girls through a multitude of depictions of skin color, body shapes, hairstyles, and physical ability. A Brown girl who uses a wheelchair is just as creative and powerful as a girl involved in martial arts. This is the kind of book that Brown girls will pore over because they see themselves and their friends in Bond’s illustrations and Banker’s poetry.
