Maya Loves the Sun - Disha Mathur - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Disha Mathur

ILLUSTRATOR: Felishia Henditirto

GENRE: Children's Picture Book.

PUBLICATION DATE: June 3, 2025.

RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A picture book highlighting the issue of colourism through a little girl’s experiences. Great intent, pretty good execution. The illustrations elevate the book. Recommended.

Plot Preview:

Young Maya absolutely loves summer time and playing under the sun. However, a distant relative comments about her darkening skin, Maya’s happiness disappears. Disheartened, she stops going out, until her mother approaches her with some wise words.

As someone who stays in the heart of the tropics, I am not a fan of summertime. Since childhood, I have read about fictional characters going gaga over summer and beaches and tans. To me though, summer was (and is) nothing but intense heat and humidity. As such, I can't wax eloquent about the sun and I don't empathise with Maya’s fondness for playing in the sun.

However, where I can strongly relate to Maya is in having the same frustrations over the seemingly universal obsession with lighter skin colour. Indians are weirdly fascinated by fair skin. The refrain of “Don’t play under the sun or you’ll turn dark” is a common one even today. Fairness here is still equated with beauty, to the extent that even movie actresses use full-body makeup to appear fairer, and some even opt for laser treatment to lighten their skin tone and thus fit into popular beauty standards. As such, it is refreshing to see a book raise awareness of this issue of colourism and highlight how skin colour is just external and doesn’t represent who we truly are.

Several parts of this little book do well. I especially loved Mom’s lines to Maya about self-acceptance – so simply and beautifully explained. However, the overall plot feels a little disjointed as it jumps across scenes without answering all raised (or hinted) questions. This is even more surprising considering how text-intensive the book is. Further, the in-between magical realism (if I can call it that) comes out of nowhere. Though it probably meant well, it doesn’t fit into the otherwise grounded narrative.

The book obviously makes better sense in temperate climes. Hardly anyone would willingly go and play under the sweltering summer sun in the tropics. Plus, there are genuine health issues associated with too much direct sun time. That’s why I LOVE the parting section on sun safety – a must for all kids. While I wish a part of this information had been incorporated into the main storyline, I still appreciate that it was included at the end. (Better late than never, right?) There is also an insightful look at colourism, a heartfelt note by the author about her own experience, and some questions to reflect upon.

The illustrations are stunning. The digital art makes the pages appear appropriately sunny and dark, depending on Maya’s emotions. The sparky sun rays stole the show. The illustration on the back jacket, depicting Maya and her elder sister chilling out under the sun, was my absolute favourite.

Overall, though some parts of this book could have worked a little better, I still appreciate its agenda and most of its implementation. The illustrations add to its charm. The text goes a little beyond typical picture books, so this would better suit adept little readers who are just transitioning to chapter books.

Recommended to homes, and also to school classrooms and libraries as this would make a great discussion resource even beyond Indian/South Asian groups.

My thanks to Buddoo Books and IBPA for providing the DRC of “Maya Loves the Sun” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.