My Skin, Your Skin is a new book from Early Years expert Laura Henry-Allain which builds children’s understanding of race and anti-racism from an early age.

Written by Laura Henry-Allain and Illustrated by Onyinye Iwu

My Skin, Your Skin is a powerful book to help children aged 4+ and adults have meaningful discussions about race and anti-racism and more importantly empowers them to have self-love, self-esteem and self-worth, irrespective of their skin colour.

Through colourful and bold illustrations and graphics, by illustrator Onyinye Iwu, and simple language, the book offers a way for children to articulate the experiences around them when it comes to race and racism. For those who may wish to maintain that this age is too young to talk to children about these issues, the fact is that children experience these issues, but likely lack the understanding and perhaps language to be able to express their experiences.

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My Skin, Your Skin talks about racism and why it is wrong in a way that children can understand. The book contains explanations on key words and concepts written in child-friendly, accessible language, with relatable examples, to help young children navigate the world around them.

The book is also a great resource for parents/carers and teachers, providing an excellent opener to explain and answer questions on these topics and guide children on what they can do if they see it or experience it.

Another key aim of the book is also to inspire children to be the best versions of themselves and celebrate their uniqueness.

The book’s author, Laura Henry-Allain, MBE is an international award-winning early education specialist, writer and children’s media creator. As the creator and associate producer of the well-loved CBeebies characters JoJo and Gran Gran, she is a children’s champion and prioritises inclusion, racial equality and diversity within educational spaces.

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Explaining her motivation for writing this book, Laura said: “I have wanted to write a book like this for a while and it’s such an honour to now see it in print. The themes within it are very close to my heart and I hope that it will go some way to helping to create a more tolerant and equitable world for the next generation.”