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    The Boy & the Bindi
    The Boy & the Bindi
    The Boy & the Bindi
    Ebook37 pages16 minutes

    The Boy & the Bindi

    By Vivek Shraya and Rajni Perera

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In this beautiful children’s picture book by Vivek Shraya, author of the acclaimed God Loves Hair, a five-year-old South Asian boy becomes fascinated with his mother’s bindi, the red dot commonly worn by Hindu women to indicate the point at which creation begins, and wishes to have one of his own. Rather than chastise her son, she agrees to it, and teaches him about its cultural significance, allowing the boy to discover the magic of the bindi, which in turn gives him permission to be more fully himself.

    Beautifully illustrated by Rajni Perera, The Boy & the Bindi is a joyful celebration of gender and cultural difference.

    Ages 3 to 6.

    Vivek Shraya is a performer, musician, and filmmaker, and the authors of God Loves Hair and She of the Mountains.


    This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A book with many images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArsenal Pulp Press
    Release dateSep 19, 2016
    ISBN9781551526690
    The Boy & the Bindi
    Author

    Vivek Shraya

    Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, and film. Her best-selling book I’m Afraid of Men was heralded by Vanity Fair as “cultural rocket fuel.” She is the founder of the award-winning publishing imprint VS. Books that supports emerging BIPOC writers. A seven-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, Shraya lives in Treaty 7 territory, where she is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Calgary.

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    Reviews for The Boy & the Bindi

    4.5/5

    40 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was such an affirmative read! I like how the gender non-conformity is seen as nothing unusual and how the mother didn't hesitate to give her son a Bindi. Since this is a children's book, I would've appreciated it, if there was a tad more backstory regarding Bindis. Nevertheless, it is such an empowering book and definitely a gem.
    • 5/5
      A little boy is both proud and curious about his Ammi’s dot. He has already noticed many things about it, its many hues, how she applies it, and where she wears it. Now he wants to know exactly what it is. The boy’s mother tells him her Bindi keeps her safe and true. With this explanation, the boy now wants a Bindi, too and asks his mother if she has one to spare.Critical Analysis: Storybooks can help children make realistic positive judgments as they come to see themselves in relationships and compare themselves with others in characteristics and in physical appearance. The book is a strong choice for developing many components of personality development and especially for building self-concept because it is a model for ethnic identification for the protagonist. Furthermore, Georgis informs that a child's developing self-concept also involves identifying with one’s heritage. Favorite Quote: "I do not have the words to say but if I close my eyes and wait my bindi turns into a star, and then my forehead turns into the sky, that's when all my fears fade out of sight and my body feels so light - Ammi was so very right."
    • 3/5
      A young boy is fascinated by his mother's bindi in this rhyming picture-book from Canadian artist and author Vivek Shraya. Attracted to the "bright and pretty spot," he is given a poetic explanation of what a bindi is and does, keeping one "safe and true," and reminding the wearer of where she comes from. When the boy asks his mother if he can have a bindi, she gives him one to wear, and he immediately feels calm and happy...Although not associated exclusively with women in all Asian cultures, in India the use of the bindi - a decorative mark that is situated over the spot in the forehead considered the location of the mystical "third eye" - does seem to be a gendered practice. I have vivid memories of a college friend from India who would become very incensed about the topic, considering the bindi a symbol of the oppression of women. For my part, having not studied the subject, I have no strong or fixed opinion on the matter, and approached The Boy & The Bindi with curiosity. Here the practice seems more a marker of identity, although its spiritual aspects are touched upon as well. The text is somewhat clunky at times (always a risk, with rhyming tales), but overall the narrative is positive and upbeat, and the artwork, done by Rajni Perera, is lovely. This one reminded me of Jacob's New Dress, a similar story of a boy embracing traditionally female attire, but it is nice to see a story bringing in South Asian culture as well. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories in which the characters experiment with gendered behavior and dress.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      While the rhymes were a bit clunky at times, I appreciate that this book exists. Finding children's books by queer authors in the library is so encouraging, especially when I think about how much I would have appreciated these kinds of things when I was younger. (Which really wasn't all that long ago, but things have changed so much in even just the past fifteen years, I'm so excited to see more LGBTQA literature out there.)

      This book touches on identity, gender, culture, and it's all done in a really positive way. I like that it doesn't treat any of those things as a "very special" issue -- the story itself feels really down to earth and authentic, despite the sometimes awkward writing.
    • 5/5
      affirming, and challenges masculinities and gender roles in vivek's trademark emotional, tender way. illustrations by perera are GORGEOUS.

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    The Boy & the Bindi - Vivek Shraya

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