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What Color Is the Baby?: A Celebration of Skin Tones

Author Harshini Vankineni
Illustrated by Neha Rawat
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Hardcover
$18.99 US
Candlewick
9-13/16"W x 10-1/4"H | 20 oz | 60 per carton
On sale Feb 04, 2025 | 40 Pages | 9781536228946
Age 4-8 years | Preschool - 3
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A debut author takes a familiar loaded question, steeped in colorism, and turns it into one child’s openhearted celebration of her new baby sister.

When Kundana meets her newborn sister, Kuku, she declares her the prettiest baby in the world. But as grandparents, aunts, and uncles welcome Kuku, all they want to know is what color she is. Is she a marigold like her sister? Or a white jasmine? As the family gazes at Kuku’s brown skin, big sister Kundana wonders why her family would care what color Kuku is—she’s beautiful! Inspired by first-time author Harshini Vankineni’s own experiences with colorism—the practice of treating people differently because of how dark or light their skin is—What Color Is the Baby? is a moving journey of a big sister finding a new and loving way to describe and defend her adored baby sister, while Neha Rawat’s warm illustrations delight with coziness and love of family.
A poignant story that brilliantly tackles the important topic of colorism. In this well-told narrative, we follow a little girl speaking up to defend her newborn baby sister from micro-prejudices in the extended family. Harshini Vankineni’s What Color Is the Baby? is a beautiful celebration of dark skin tones, adorable sibling love, and welcoming a baby home.
—Meera Sriram, author of A Garden in My Hands

A tale of one sister’s unconditional love for her new baby sister that will pull at the heartstrings of all who read this poignant story.
—Patrice Karst, best-selling author of The Invisible String

What Color Is the Baby? A Celebration of Skin Tones is essential reading, a book that flips and reshapes ideas of color and beauty and celebrates us for all that we are.
—Angie Cruz, author of Angélica and La Güira

An extremely important book that teaches us that every shade and complexion is beautiful—a lesson that children innately understand.
—Nikkolas Smith, #1 New York Times best-selling illustrator of The 1619 Project: Born on the Water
Harshini Vankineni is fluent in four languages and is a member of SCBWI. What Color Is the Baby? is her publishing debut. An immigrant from India, Harshini Vankineni lives in Southern California with her husband and two young children.

Neha Rawat is an engineer and the illustrator of several books for young readers, including Masala Chai, Fast and Slow by Rajani LaRocca, Zuni and the Memory Jar by Aisha Saeed, and The Totally NOT Wicked Stepmother. She lives in India.
Harshini Vankineni View titles by Harshini Vankineni
Neha Rawat View titles by Neha Rawat

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About

A debut author takes a familiar loaded question, steeped in colorism, and turns it into one child’s openhearted celebration of her new baby sister.

When Kundana meets her newborn sister, Kuku, she declares her the prettiest baby in the world. But as grandparents, aunts, and uncles welcome Kuku, all they want to know is what color she is. Is she a marigold like her sister? Or a white jasmine? As the family gazes at Kuku’s brown skin, big sister Kundana wonders why her family would care what color Kuku is—she’s beautiful! Inspired by first-time author Harshini Vankineni’s own experiences with colorism—the practice of treating people differently because of how dark or light their skin is—What Color Is the Baby? is a moving journey of a big sister finding a new and loving way to describe and defend her adored baby sister, while Neha Rawat’s warm illustrations delight with coziness and love of family.

Praise

A poignant story that brilliantly tackles the important topic of colorism. In this well-told narrative, we follow a little girl speaking up to defend her newborn baby sister from micro-prejudices in the extended family. Harshini Vankineni’s What Color Is the Baby? is a beautiful celebration of dark skin tones, adorable sibling love, and welcoming a baby home.
—Meera Sriram, author of A Garden in My Hands

A tale of one sister’s unconditional love for her new baby sister that will pull at the heartstrings of all who read this poignant story.
—Patrice Karst, best-selling author of The Invisible String

What Color Is the Baby? A Celebration of Skin Tones is essential reading, a book that flips and reshapes ideas of color and beauty and celebrates us for all that we are.
—Angie Cruz, author of Angélica and La Güira

An extremely important book that teaches us that every shade and complexion is beautiful—a lesson that children innately understand.
—Nikkolas Smith, #1 New York Times best-selling illustrator of The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Author

Harshini Vankineni is fluent in four languages and is a member of SCBWI. What Color Is the Baby? is her publishing debut. An immigrant from India, Harshini Vankineni lives in Southern California with her husband and two young children.

Neha Rawat is an engineer and the illustrator of several books for young readers, including Masala Chai, Fast and Slow by Rajani LaRocca, Zuni and the Memory Jar by Aisha Saeed, and The Totally NOT Wicked Stepmother. She lives in India.
Harshini Vankineni View titles by Harshini Vankineni
Neha Rawat View titles by Neha Rawat

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