‘I wanted to read about girls like me’: Author’s first children’s book aims to inspire girls to dream big

The author of a new children’s book hopes to inspire the next generation after growing up feeling culturally unrepresented in British children’s literature.

Prameet Dhaliwal, 32, of Lordship Lane, Dulwich, has recently released The Girl and Her Globe.

The book follows the story of a young South Asian girl who dreams of making the world a better place. She visits different communities and cultures and sees how rooted they are in their environment.

Ms Dhaliwal was born and educated in Coventry, as the second child in a third-generation family that arrived in the Midlands city from the Punjab region of India in the mid 1960s.

She said: “I wanted to write this book because when I was growing up, I was an avid reader – but there were no accurate South Asian characters in fiction I could identify with – and certainly none that were wildly compelling.

“I wanted to read about girls like me, with ambition, curiosity and drive – and see what they could become or achieve. 

“But the only characters around in the 1990s were minor figures who were dull stereotypes on the periphery of the central narrative.”

In November last year, a study by The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education found that 30 per cent of children’s books published in 2022 featured black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) characters, a significant increase from the four per cent first reported in 2017. 

This increase was also echoed in the number of BAME main characters, up from one per cent in 2017 to 14 per cent in 2022.

But Ms Dhaliwal said there is still a long way to go. 

The Girl and Her Globe is part of Ms Dhaliwal’s larger initiative, Girls in Movement, which  campaigns to improve education for girls through investment in village schools all over the world.

Ms Dhaliwal said her work is heavily influenced by her grandmother, who still lives with her family in Coventry.

She said: “I started Girls in Movement because education is fundamental for young girls globally. 

“My grandma grew up in a village. She wanted to be a teacher but was married by 15.

“Although it was a very happy marriage, I came to understand from a young age the sacrifices young girls must make. 

“Fast forward 50 years, this is still happening in villages and communities across the world.”

Outside of writing and campaign work, Ms Dhaliwal also runs a podcast – Girls in Movement – which has hit more than 20,000 downloads on Apple and Spotify and features guests including journalist Stacey Dooley and radio and TV presenter, Nihal Arathanayke.

She said: “I’m driven to find the thing that is going to leave a mark.

“My grandfather said no to the generation before him. They expected him to stay in India and work on the farm. He refused to accept that and came to the UK.

“That taught me a valuable lesson – that you have to break generational stereotypes.

“I feel you’ve got to be that bold person.”

The Girl and Her Globe is available: https://girlsinmovement.com

Pictured top: Prameet Dhaliwal with her new children’s book, The Girl and Her Globe (Picture: Prameet Dhaliwal)