STOLEN COLORS

A youngster finds a way to heal after sexual abuse by a mentor.

Shreya loves art class, including her teacher, Mr. Rao. When she wears her favorite brightly colored dress to school on her birthday, she is overjoyed that he wants to paint her portrait. But once she is alone with him in the art room, Mr. Rao kisses her and tells her to keep it a secret. Shreya feels ashamed that she didn’t say no or tell a trusted adult—all things she’s been told to do if someone makes her feel uncomfortable. As Shreya makes her paintings drab and ugly to avoid standing out, Anand’s expressive illustrations turn dark and shadowy, reflecting Shreya’s turbulent emotional state. Finally, another girl reports Mr. Rao to the principal, which empowers Shreya to tell her mother what happened. Color begins to return to the illustrations. The next time Shreya goes to art class, Mr. Rao is gone. Standing beside her classmate and looking at a blank canvas, Shreya realizes she can begin to paint in color again. Patel deals with a devastating topic in a direct but age-appropriate way; importantly, she normalizes the complex feelings and reactions that youngsters can experience in the wake of abuse even after receiving education about consent, and she models a truly supportive and loving adult response. Shreya and her mother are brown-skinned and of South Asian heritage.

A carefully crafted opening for difficult but important conversations.