Indigo Hands - by Sita Singh (Hardcover)

About the Book

Neela and Dadu visit his indigo farm where he explains how the plant is turned into a colorful dye.

Book Synopsis

Here is a heartwarming picture book about family, tradition... and indigo!

An Indian girl accompanies her grandfather to his indigo studio, where she learns, step-by-step, how to dye cloth--and her hands!--the color of the midnight sky.

Neela can't wait to go to her Dadu's indigo studio, where he'll teach her to dye white cloth a brilliant indigo blue.

On the way, Dadu and Neela stop at the indigo farm, so she can see how this special dye is made. They watch as women collect indigo leaves and men stomp on them in water-filled tanks. Then, it's off to Dadu's studio where they mix last year's indigo in a big pot with lime and date juice. At last, the indigo dye is ready. Neela dips in her cloth, waits for it to dry, and--magic!--it turns a shade of blue like no other. And now her hands are stained indigo, too, just like Dadu's.

This touching intergenerational story, accompanied by vibrant artwork, celebrates passing down a beloved tradition and showcases the how-tos of a unique and important craft.

About the Author

Sita Singh writes heart-warming stories with a South Asian backdrop. She is the author of Birds of a Feather, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman, which was a Dolly Parton Imagination Library selection. Her picture book Mango Memories was published by Anne Schwartz Books in Spring 2024. Born and raised in Ahmedabad, India, Sita now lives in South Florida with her family.

Maithili Joshi is an illustrator and cover designer from India, now based in New York. She began her career in children's publishing after graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 2022. Her recent picture book, My Best Friend's Bangles, written by Thushanthi Ponweera, was a JLG Gold Standard selection and was exhibited at the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show in New York. She is also the illustrator of Tiny Jumper by Candy Dahl, which received two starred reviews, and You Are a Star, Malala Yousafzai by Dean Robbins.