Laxmi's Mooch

Laxmi, a softly round Indian American girl with golden brown skin and two black braids, narrates this body hair-normalizing tale. When Laxmi's friends Zoe and Noah--a lanky blond and a plump yarmulke-wearing child--point out the "little hairs on your lip" during a game of animal make-believe, Laxmi hurries to the mirror. Suddenly self-conscious of her mooch--mustache in Hindi--Laxmi hides her upper lip, worries that kids are mocking her, and notices "hair all over my body": arms, eyebrows, knuckles, and legs. Arriving home, she's distraught--but her parents soon dispel her concerns with humor and heart. Debut author Anand's dialogue feels both genuine and gentle, incorporating Hindi with ease ("Nahi! You know, we come from a long line of women with moochay"). Warm, expressive digital illustrations by Ali (All the Way to the Top), meanwhile, feature a hijabi teacher and classmates with varying skin tones and hair textures. A joyfully affirmative picture book with a winning first-person point of view. Endpapers feature a Hindi-English picture glossary. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Saba Sulaiman, Talcott Notch Literary. Illustrator's agent: James Burns, the Bright Agency. (Mar.)

Gr 1-3--Laxmi is a South Asian girl, sporting dark hair, tan skin, and tiny dark hairs above her upper lip. Her mooch, or mustache, becomes the topic of conversation one day at school, causing Laxmi to become extremely self-conscious about all of her body hair. At home, Laxmi asks her parents about her mooch; they, in return, quell Laxmi's insecurities by comparing her to other beautiful people and creatures who have hair elsewhere than their heads. The next day, Laxmi proudly displays her mooch, inviting her classmates to celebrate their own--real or not--along with her. Beautifully illustrated using a wide array of colors, Laxmi's world is filled with people of many skin shades, body types, and cultural backgrounds. The images pair delightfully with the text, propelling the story forward and connecting readers to Laxmi and her life. Additionally, Laxmi invites readers into her story at the beginning and the end, breaking the fourth wall and making children feel seen in a safe, friendly way. Mid-length text makes this story well suited to kids, whether as a read aloud or an independent read. Hindi words blend seamlessly into the dialogue, requiring no translation; however, these words also appear on the endpapers with accompanying visuals to reiterate this potentially new vocabulary. VERDICT Readers of all ages will appreciate the message of self-love presented within Laxmi's story, which takes on body positivity for a relatively young audience in an uplifting way.--Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver P.L.