In much of North America, Indian doesn't mean me. East Indian doesn't feel quite right. Religious labels are part of the picture, but only part. So the term “South Asian” is a relief. It allows us to acknowledge rich, diverse cultures that are also evolving and changing in the places where they've taken root. Happily, these perspectives are beginning to be expressed in books for children.

Rukhsana Khan's picture books interpret her slice of South Asia for Canadian and American readers. King of the Skies (illustrated by Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson, North Winds Press, 2001) take readers to rooftops in Lahore, Pakistan, from where kites flutter on Basunt Day, and a generally ignored child has his moment of triumph. In Ruler of the Courtyard (illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, Viking, 2003) misunderstanding and childhood fears combine in a Pakistani courtyard, complete with one of those outdoor bath-houses, whose ambience hangs wonderfully miasma-like over the story. In contrast, Khan's young adult novel, Dahling, If You Luv Me Would You Please, Please Smile? (Stoddart Kids, 1999) is set in contemporary Canada, and examines the relationship between a Muslim girl and her Hindu classmate.

Rachna Gilmore's Gita books are about a young girl whose family has immigrated to Canada from India. In A Gift for Gita (illustrated by Alice Priestley, Second Story Press, 1998), Gita is sad at having to choose a single place as home. In the end, she understands that she can be Canadian, and still cherish a grandmother for whom some aspects of this continent will always remain foreign. Other books in the series are Lights for Gita (Second Story Press, 1994) and Roses for Gita (Second Story Press, 1996), both illustrated by Alice Pristley.

In A Group of One, also by Rachna Gilmore, (Henry Holt, 2001), the protagonist Tara makes sense of her own position in a web of family relationships and tensions, only when she understands her grandmother's past. But Nani too has to work at forging connections with the younger generation.

In Tanuja Desai Hidier's young adult novel, Born Confused (Scholastic Press, 2002), the seventeen year old protagonist is a sharp and witty commentator. The youthful desi community (“desi” in Hindi means “of or from my country”) is depicted in loving detail and extravagant, unafraid imagery, conveying nuances of context, conundrums of naming and being named.

It's been a long haul since 1928, when a novel by an author of Indian origin, Dhan Gopal Mukerji, won the Newbery Award for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. For decades after that, South Asians were all but invisible in the world of North American children's literature. That's changing.