My Indigo World

I can't wait to add this book to our collection! What a lovely combination of history, community, and intersectionality. Chang skillfully weaves the three to create a non-fiction book that takes the reader through the history of indigo across the world, including both the light and dark aspects of its history, while also guiding us through the process of creating indigo dye. Absolutely fantastic!

I thought that this was a good book and the illustrations were lovely, they really suited the story and brought it to life!

I loved the way that this story was told. My Indigo World tells the story about a Korean American, who receives indigo plant seeds as a child and from there discovers more about this fascinating plant and its uses.

She learns how to grow indigo seeds and its cycle from harvesting the seeds and using the leaves to make a dye for clothing. The book focuses on the way that indigo has brought communities together but it also touches on the darker side of the forced work to get the dye in times gone by.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended and I learnt a lot more than I expected as an adult too which is always a plus with this kind of book!

I can think of many children's books focused on the color blue -- many of them talking about calming feelings or the ocean. This book adds to the collection of books focused on the color blue, but from a very different angle -- STEM (nature/natural world), art, community, and culture.

My Indigo World focuses on the author, a Korean American, who receives indigo plant seeds as a kid and discovers the magic of the plant. She learns how to grow indigo seeds, then harvest the leaves, and finally uses them to dye clothes and repeat the cycle. She talks about how indigo has brought her community together and how they farm together.

I learned a lot from this book about a plant I never thought much about. I now want to look up indigo seeds and see if I should grow a few plants next spring to discover the magic of indigo. This book would make a fun addition to an elementary or even upper grades classroom library to talk about art and nature, business and nature, or other related topics.

I love this book! I learned a lot as an adult and it has peaked my curiosity to find out even more. Blue is one of my favourite colours so how fun it will be to trace more of the history of the colour and its effect on community living across the world.

The author, a Korean American young girl, receives a handful of indigo plant seeds from a friend. She plants them the next morning in her garden and learns how to grow, harvest, and use the leaves to make dye for clothing and materials. She expounds on the fact that people around the world have been growing indigo plants for centuries.


Now the author cultivates these magical plants with her friends on a little farm in the middle of Baltimore. She carefully explains the growing process and how the colour blue is extracted from the leaves. It's truly fascinating. I had no idea.

The book is very comprehensive on the subject and would be a great book to add to a classroom and elementary school library. It will spark conversations and interesting knowledge regarding art, nature, entrepreneurship, business and history. This non-fiction, all-encompassing book will inspire kids to follow their dreams, stoke their imagines, be creative and experience dreams coming to fruition. The illustrations are beautiful and marry the text perfectly. I highly recommend "My Indigo World"!