Having a feature which is different from other people such as hair colour or style, or bigger teeth, is something that often makes children feel self-conscious. It’s also something that other children pick up on and make fun of which can cause a lot of upset and loss of confidence as a result of the cruel words.
“Kara” written by Dominic Yoboue, is a lovely book that explores this issue and gives young children tools to manage their feelings of embarrassment or lack of confidence around something in their appearance that makes them different. I was kindly gifted an electronic copy of the book so I could read and review it.
Having the tools to manage teasing about their appearance empowers children to learn to love themselves for who they are from an early age, which helps them grow into confident adults.
My experience of being different
I’m a redhead and can still remember how I felt when I was picked on at school because of it. All I wanted to do was hide. I’d dream of what I’d look like if I changed my hair colour so that I blended in with all of the other kids in my class, rather than sticking out, I felt, like a sore thumb.
I inherited my hair colouring, fair skin and freckles from my dad. He was completely unphased by the colour of his hair and didn’t really understand why I felt it made me different. I guess different types of features only stand out when there are not many other people with similar features. If I’d been in a class full of redheads, it wouldn’t have bothered me.
And that’s the case for Kara. She has beautiful, big, curly afro hair which is different to a lot of the other children in her school. A comment from an older child about her hair sends her into a tailspin feeling that her hair is ugly and that she needs to get rid of it. She longed for “normal” hair that was easy to brush and could be tied back with clips and bows.
Kara’s journey
As a result of the comment, Kara believes her hair is ugly and doesn’t realise it is such a wonderful part of who she is. Feeling that they’re different from everyone else is often something that young children only see as being a bad thing. It took me years to understand that my red hair was a big part of what made me, me. I spent a lot of my late teens and early twenties trying to change its colour and became increasingly frustrated when home dye attempts did nothing more than give me a different hue, rather than a new colour.
I can vividly remember going to China for a sports competition when I was in my early twenties and getting a lot of attention because many of the Chinese people I met had never seen someone with red hair. I was feeling more confident in my own skin (and hair colouring) but still remember feeling very self-conscious when a young boy ran off in sheer terror at the sight of my hair. His parents had asked me to pose with them for a photo because they were so intrigued by the colour of my hair, but their son was terrified of me! I presume he hadn’t realised hair came in any other colour than the traditional dark brown or black which is the typical colour for Asian hair.A
An inspiring dream
Kara has a lovely dream involving a white dove that helps her to appreciate how wonderful her hair is. It shows her that her hair is what makes her unique and is something beautiful and special, not ugly. It helps her understand that her hair is a big part of who she is and that it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about it.
Learning to love themselves, including anything that may be a bit different, whether that’s something physical or otherwise, is such an important lesson for young children and “Kara” is a great tool to help to do that. It’s a lovely story that helps children understand the power of self-love and how it can help them embrace their different bits as they are what makes them unique and special.
Where to buy “Kara” written by Dominic Yoboue
“Kara” is available to buy from Austin Macauley and retail outlets such as Amazon. Please note that if you click on the link to Amazon and buy the book, I get paid a fee.
Head to the book review section to find out about more wonderful children’s picture books.
