LAXMI'S MOOCH

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.