Do you remember
that word
you called me?

A picture book drawn from childhood.
About growing up Brown — and the names
that mark you, and the difference they make.

My Skin: Brown — Official Cover by @studentAsim, illustrated by Sari Richter
4th title by @studentAsim

My Skin:
Brown

A story about You…™

Shows what racism feels like in pictures — beyond the initial incident. Set in Toronto.

Get the Book See Inside

A book for Brown and Black communities — and for every child who has been given a name they never asked for, and had to carry it the rest of their life.

How this book came to be

I wrote this book
because of you.

It was a typical fall morning in 2017. I was sitting on the couch, and then I just felt something. My Skin: Brown came to me and I instantly wrote it down.

It was subconscious — probably years of feeling othered, finally needing a voice. Growing up as a child of Pakistani immigrants, I felt no different than anyone else. That is, until I was branded with names.

I remember being called names as young as four or five years old. In particular, one specific name. The colon in the title is deliberate. It marks what came after.

Writing this book meant revisiting those moments. For me, My Skin: Brown is sensitive because I had to go back to difficult racist incidents — especially from childhood — to produce this story and artwork.

Undoubtedly, the work is a living feeling. It reflects my entire life. My Skin: Brown shows how lives are affected by racism — often, forever.

My Skin: Brown stands with Brown and Black Communities and solidarity movements that fight racism and White Supremacy.

The moment — the bad word Classroom scene Playground scene
From inside the book

The artwork
that tells the story.

Every page hand-painted. A world that looks like Toronto.

Ayden and his mother
Ayden and his mother
Aerial neighbourhood — Toronto
The neighbourhood
The playground
The playground
Aerial Toronto
The neighbourhood
Interior spread
Inside the pages
The launch & beyond

Taking the book
to the world.

Conferences, classrooms, and conversations across Canada.

Author at book fair
Author at event
Readers at event
Author signing
Crowd at table
My Skin: Brown Book Launch
Book Launch

The official launch event for My Skin: Brown — bringing the story to the community for the first time.

My Skin: Brown Film — shot on location in Pakistan

The My Skin: Brown Film  ·  Shot on location in Pakistan

These people are like
you and I. I can't control the colour of my skin.

I shot this film in Pakistan. It is a poetic film about people — people who work like you and I, who feel like you and I, who are like you and I. And yet they are seen differently. Because their skin is brown.

Watch on YouTube

Filmed in  Pakistan  ·  By  @studentAsim

What readers say

Video reviews.

Video Review
Video Review

A reader's honest response to the book — what it meant to them, and why it matters.

Video Review
Video Review

Another reader shares their experience with My Skin: Brown and its impact.

Featured Editorial
Canadian Children's Book News  ·  Fall 2018  ·  Pg. 16

Learning through Literature:
My Skin: Brown in the classroom.

In the Fall 2018 edition of Canadian Children's Book News — the national authority on children's literature in Canada — author and educator Larry Swartz dedicated a full editorial feature to My Skin: Brown as a classroom resource for exploring diversity.

"Such stories often celebrate those who make a difference in the lives of marginalized individuals and groups and remind readers of the sameness and differences that we all live by."

The feature places My Skin: Brown alongside its focus issue of Racial Bias and provides teachers with structured discussion questions — on racism, tolerance, and the meaning of harmony — making it one of the few Canadian children's books to receive this level of academic endorsement.

Read the full feature
Canadian Children's Book News — Fall 2018, pg. 16

Canadian Children's Book News — Fall 2018  ·  Page 18

What this book is —
and who it's for.

A personal reckoning, a classroom tool, and an act of solidarity — all at once. For Brown and Black communities, and for everyone.

Drawn from real life

Based on the author's own childhood experiences as a child of Pakistani immigrants — personal, specific, and true.

For Brown and Black communities

An ambassador and a voice for communities who face inequities based on race. Relevant to anyone seeking to understand bigotry, hate, and fear.

A classroom tool

Designed to open conversations. For teachers, parents, librarians, and students who want to explore racism honestly and carefully.

Beyond the moment

Shows what racism feels like after the incident — the lasting weight, the silence, the permanent change it makes in a child's life.

Ayden Khan

The main character — a child of Pakistani immigrants — whose story becomes a mirror for any child who has ever been made to feel less than.

An act of solidarity

My Skin: Brown stands with Brown and Black Communities and the movements that fight racism and White Supremacy.

A story that doesn't end

The book closes with a quiet revelation: a park named after Ayden. We never learn what he did to earn it. We only know that he rose above — and gave back in a way that changed something for everyone. His response to being marked was not bitterness. It was philanthropy.

This book was written
because of you.

Order My Skin: Brown online. A review on Goodreads helps the message reach further.

Order on Kindle Review on Goodreads
My Skin: Brown — Official Cover

My Skin: Brown — Published 2018

The Author

— @studentAsim
(Asim Hussain)

My Skin: Brown is @studentAsim’s 4th title. He is a multidisciplinary artist and author based in Toronto, Canada — a child of Pakistani immigrants whose creative work centres on philanthropy, identity, memory, and community storytelling.

His work spans picture books, a digital storytelling platform (islamophobia.io), an upcoming film, and public installations including the Champion for Life™ mural — featuring the word “READ” in 300+ languages — installed in Toronto schools.

@studentAsim reading My Skin: Brown to a classroom of children

Reading My Skin: Brown to students — each time, a special moment.