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.
- Books
- Kids Fiction & Indies
- Kids Fiction
- What Color Is the Baby? A Celebration of Skin Tones
What Color Is the Baby? A Celebration of Skin Tones
Author(s)
Publisher
Age Range
4+
Release Date
April 01, 2025
ISBN
978-1536228946
Buy This Book
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.
Editor review
1 review
A Delightful Story Highlighting Embracing Skin Tones
(Updated: July 01, 2026)
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
5.0
Characters
5.0
Writing Style
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
5.0
Kundana has a new baby sister, and she thinks that Kuku is the prettiest baby she has ever seen. Unfortunately, though, everyone is more concerned about what color Kuku is. Does she match her sister? Is she a white jasmine? Kundana wonders why people would care what color Kuku is; to her, she’s beautiful.
What I Liked: This book opens with Kundana and her dad going to the hospital for Kundana to meet her new baby sister. This is a beautiful moment between this family as Kundana recognizes how her new sister looks like her, and gets to help her parents name Kuku. Kundana is able to provide others with a new perspective on Kuku as she shows them how her new sister is a little bit of everyone and how that makes her their color.
This book highlights how families can be of different shades and how the thing that brings them together is their love for one another. This book also highlights the ways that words can have a lasting impact on others, as Kundana wonders why everyone is concerned about her sister’s color over anything else, and her mother has a sad expression as people are disappointed that the baby shares her skin tone. There is a moment in which Kundana brings up her concern with her dad and asks if he is sad because of Kuku’s color, and this is a great learning moment as he expresses that he isn’t and how Kuku is just as beautiful as her mother.
This book closes with an author’s note in which she shares her experiences with colorism and how that has impacted her life. This note also shows how this colorism is often perpetuated and fueled by other family members and how children internalize these messages.
Final Verdict: What Color Is the Baby? is a delightful story about a sister who finds a new way to describe and defend her new baby sister. This book celebrates various skin tones while showcasing the importance of embracing our differences rather than putting shame on others for those differences. This book is a great starting point to begin having conversations with children about embracing their skin color and appreciating other skin colors as well.
What I Liked: This book opens with Kundana and her dad going to the hospital for Kundana to meet her new baby sister. This is a beautiful moment between this family as Kundana recognizes how her new sister looks like her, and gets to help her parents name Kuku. Kundana is able to provide others with a new perspective on Kuku as she shows them how her new sister is a little bit of everyone and how that makes her their color.
This book highlights how families can be of different shades and how the thing that brings them together is their love for one another. This book also highlights the ways that words can have a lasting impact on others, as Kundana wonders why everyone is concerned about her sister’s color over anything else, and her mother has a sad expression as people are disappointed that the baby shares her skin tone. There is a moment in which Kundana brings up her concern with her dad and asks if he is sad because of Kuku’s color, and this is a great learning moment as he expresses that he isn’t and how Kuku is just as beautiful as her mother.
This book closes with an author’s note in which she shares her experiences with colorism and how that has impacted her life. This note also shows how this colorism is often perpetuated and fueled by other family members and how children internalize these messages.
Final Verdict: What Color Is the Baby? is a delightful story about a sister who finds a new way to describe and defend her new baby sister. This book celebrates various skin tones while showcasing the importance of embracing our differences rather than putting shame on others for those differences. This book is a great starting point to begin having conversations with children about embracing their skin color and appreciating other skin colors as well.
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