The Words in Picture Books: Lali’s Feather by Farhana Zia
Even in 2022, it’s rare to find a truly playful picture book that is also grounded in a particular location and with a specific cultural setting. In Lali’s Feather by Farhana Zia, you will not find the staple fare of diversity in picture books—food, family traditions, festivals. It’s not an immigration story. It’s not about fitting in or learning about history or finding yourself. None of that. Instead, a child finds a feather and goes off to look for whose it might be.
When no one wants it, Lali makes the feather her own. Zia folds in two snatches of dialogue that could be Hindi or Urdu or Bangla. The words, “Oo ma!” and “Na…na.” are instantly recognizable in context to those who might know the Indian setting, and instantly understandable to those who don’t. One is an exclamation (wonder mixed with delight) and the other a friendly negative from the birds whose feather this isn’t.
In yet another story turn the feather is nearly lost:
Feather flitted…
Feather fluttered…
Feather floated away!
Alliteratively speaking, friendships are forged in its finding.
One last twist makes the story flit right off the page, when Lali finds—something else! Lali’s Feather is a lovely celebration of one brown girl with a vast imagination.
