My name is Amanda. I live with my Mummy, my Daddy and my dog Porsha.
My Daddy says I’m the colour of honey.
My Mummy says I look like a beautiful sunset.
But I don’t look like either of them. Only Porsha is brown like me!
When we go out, some people stare at us, or ask us lots of questions.
“Is that your Aunty?” asks the woman at the store.
No! It’s my Mummy!
“Is that your Teacher?” asks the man in the park.
“No! It’s my daddy!”
“Why don’t you look like them?”
“Because I’m the colour of honey. And I look like a beautiful sunset.”
“But your Daddy is like a night sky,” says the woman at the store.
“And your Mummy is as white as the blank pages in a book,” says the man in the park.
“Why do you look so different?”
The next day I wrap a towel on my head and swing it around just like Mummy does with her hair.
“Is that your Aunty?” asks the woman at the store.
“No, that’s my Mummy!”
I run home and get some black paint. I smear it on my face.
“Nice face painting!” says the man in the park. He points to Dad and asks, “Is that your teacher?”
“No, he’s my Daddy!”
My tears wash the paint away.
“Why don’t I look like you, mummy and daddy?”
“Amanda, show me that smile, that’s just like your Daddy’s.”
I don’t feel like smiling.
“Come on, Amanda, look at your dimple. It’s so pretty, just like your Mummy’s!”
Mummy and Daddy make me smile. And I make them smile too!
“Look!” I say, “My teeth are white, just like yours.”
“Yes, and your heart is red, just like ours.”
Credits
Originally published by Book Dash under a Creative Commons Licensed BY 4.0. This book can be read for free on https://bookdash.org/books/im-the-colour-of-honey and was created by: Maimouna Jallow (Writer), Charné Casey (Designer), Caroline Faysse (Illustrator), Alison Ziki (Editor)
