Shola Oz

Shola Oz is a London raised professional with a background in Law. Growing up in the most diverse city in England positively contributed to her upbringing and exposed her from a very early age to accept and celebrate those from different backgrounds. The inspiration for I Am Whole stems from raising her mixed race daughter. A key lesson she aims to instil in her parenting through storytelling is shining a light on mixed and multicultural children. Sharing this with the world by taking away the focus on colour and identification with one culture over another, Shola writes in a fun, inclusive and fresh style for everyone to enjoy and learn from. She wants all children reading this book to feel represented by promoting the positives of being multicultural such as language, family and traditions. I Am Whole: What makes it different? 1. No mention of skin colour. It is important to recognise that mixed and multicultural children come in many shades (so do their parents) and mentioning skin colour can unintentionally exclude children that these books apply to. 2. There are no comparisons to food, treats or desserts. It's important that when mixed and multicultural children question why they look different that an explanation can be provided without referring the above. Being mixed, whatever your shade, is a beautiful result of your parents coming from different places, there are a number of colour blends that can be created as a result and how your child turns out is just right. 3. Mixed and multicultural children are just like any other child, except they're more likely to be exposed to more cultures and traditions as a result of families blending. This is something to be celebrated! I Am Whole acknowledges that 'everything you're mixed with makes you everything you are' and writes to children in a way to love every part.