By NONIEQA RAMOS

The Soaring ‘20s are thrilled to host the cover reveal of Darshana Khiani’s debut picture book, HOW TO WEAR A SARI! 

Darshana Khiani, a mom to two darling girls, is a computer engineer by day and writer by night. She makes every hour of the day count! Her literary career began with her children’s book review site and blog Flowering Minds, where she interviewed authors, kept a book report diary, and compiled reading roundups of South Asian picture books, middle grade books, and young adult literature. She has spent more than a decade working on the We Need Diverse Books Campaign, reviewing and promoting inclusive children’s literature that reflects our world. I am so hyped to interview my Versify sibling about her debut picture book HOW TO WEAR A SARI, which is set to release June 22, 2021!

Darshana, your debut picture book, HOW TO WEAR A SARI, sparkles with playfulness, humor, and joy. Kids will love this delightful story about a little girl who plays dress-up to prove how grown-up she is. Parents will chuckle over the hilarious results.  What inspired you to tell this story?

In the fall of 2016, I was planning out my outfits for the upcoming Diwali holiday season. I love the elegance of saris, but I was bemoaning how I never got the hang of wearing one. Then I wondered what it would be like if a young Indian girl wanted to play dress-up with her mom’s sari. *lightbulb* I knew I had a story. While many books depict playing dress-up with Western formal wear, there were none with a sari. And while there are a handful of sari books, I wanted this to be fun, light-hearted, and cheery like Fancy Nancy or the Birdie books. I wanted to show the universal themes of wanting to be older and dressing up but with South Asian flair.

Please tell us about your pre-publication journey. How did you feel when you signed with Kwame Alexander’s imprint Versify?

When I was a kid, I dreaded English class. It was my hardest subject. However, I always enjoyed creative writing assignments. They were my favorite. But seeing as I didn’t like writing essays and term papers, I pursued engineering in college. Fast forward 20 years, and I’m reading stacks and stacks of picture books to my kids and loving it. I began studying the craft of writing, joined SCBWI, took classes, attended conferences, and immersed myself into everything kidlit. After seven years, in the spring of 2018, I received the wonderful news from my agent that Versify wanted to buy HOW TO WEAR A SARI. I spoke to Kwame and my editor, Erika. I loved hearing their enthusiasm and that our visions for the story matched.         

Can you describe your revision process as you strove to bring HOW TO WEAR A SARI to the beautiful work of art it is today?

Thank you for those kind words. 😊 I started this story in the fall of 2016 and only went through 11 revisions and was in polished state by the summer of 2017. That’s quite fast for me. Most of my stories take at least two years or longer. This came well-formed from the beginning in terms of the voice and plot line. I usually do a few revisions on my own to make sure all the major pieces and vision of the story are there before sending it to my critique group. The aspect that took the longest to nail was the heart for the story. “Why did she want to wear a sari?” Once the big picture items are in place, I’ll put the story into a storyboard format so I can see all the spreads on one sheet of paper. This helps me with pacing, word repetition, and seeing the number of words on each spread.   

The illustrations are fresh, whimsical, and charming. What was it like collaborating with illustrator Joanne Lew-Vriethoff? How did you feel when you saw the final product?

As is the case in many picture book projects, I didn’t have any contact with Joanne. All communications went through my editor, Erika Turner, and book designer Natalie Fondriest. This book is bursting with energy and color thanks to Joanne and Natalie.  When I saw the first full sketch dummy. I was BLOWN away. Joanne made my spunky, fun-loving girl into a fully formed person with a personality. I loved the girl’s expressions and movement. I also really appreciated how Joanne used a variety of brown skin tones for the characters and included a mixed-race family.

What do you hope readers will take away from this book? 

I want kids to know that desire to show grownups you can do older things is a universal feeling. There will be fun moments and mistakes, but that’s all part of the experience. With the ending, I wanted kids to see that everyone young and old has flop moments, too. So keep on striving!

On what other projects are you working?

Truthfully, the writing has been a bit slow with everything that’s going on in the world. I’ve been leaning into family time, learning more about anti-Blackness in the South Asian community and engaging in the ongoing conversations with family and friends.

I am polishing up a picture book on compassion, which I’m excited about as it is near and dear to my heart. I have another picture book under contract, but it hasn’t been announced yet. Stay tuned. 😉

And now… the Grand Reveal! 

As we get closer to Darshana’s publication date, please stay tuned for details on her launch. Check out her website for details on forthcoming interviews, panels, and workshops. Be sure and add HOW TO WEAR A SARI on Goodreads! 

Darshana Khiani is a computer engineer by day and a children’s writer by night. She is a second-generation Indian American and enjoys writing funny, light-hearted stories with a South Asian backdrop. When she isn’t working or writing she can be found hiking, skiing, or volunteering. Darshana lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters. You can find her online at:

Website: www.darshanakhiani.com
Twitter: @darshanakhiani
Instagram: @darshanakhiani

NoNieqa Ramos is an educator who wrote THE DISTURBED GIRL’S DICTIONARY, a 2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens, a 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection, and a 2019 In the Margins Award Top Ten pick. Hip Latina named THE TRUTH IS in its “10 of the Best Latinx Young Adult Books of 2019.”  Remezcla included TTI in the “15 Best Books by Latino and Latin American Authors of 2019.” Versify will release her debut picture books BEAUTY WOKE on January 1, 2021, and YOUR MAMA on April 6, 2021. NoNieqa is a proud member of The Soaring 20s and Las Musas. You can find her online at:

Website: https://nonieqaramos.com/
Twitter: @NoNieqaRamos
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50986523-your-mama
Instagram: @nonieqa.ramos/
Las Musas: https://www.lasmusasbooks.com/nonieqa-ramos.html