The Story Behind Brownylocks

Brownylocks was born the day I realised my stories were leaving some kids out.

Let’s raise children who are proud to be exactly who they are:

Why is a Qatari girl wearing an Elsa backpack? Why is she dressing up as Rapunzel for Book Character day?

These were the questions I didn’t even know I needed to ask until one powerful moment changed everything.

The Moment It Clicked:

As a teacher from Europe with blond hair and blue eyes, I never expected that my appearance alone could be sending silent messages to my students. One afternoon, after a day of lessons in Qatar, I was chatting with my kindergarten girls before pickup. They loved to play with my hair, and one said sweetly:

“Miss Kristyna, your hair is so beautiful.”

I smiled and replied warmly:

“And so is yours. I love your hair.”

But they shook their heads.

“No… yours is better. Like Elsa’s.”

That broke me a little.

That’s when it truly hit me:

No matter how many times I told them they were beautiful, I wasn’t showing them.

In class, I used the same stories I grew up with like. I love retelling "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair, I want to climb up!" (you would have to imagine my really cool change of voice to imitate the witch) and my ever-so-favourite Goldilocks (just how many concepts you can teach with that story: big, medium, small, tall, wide, soft, hard, the posibilities are endless)! We, teachers, bring these stories because they are familiar to us but we don't think further, how they really affect the children and what they are inadvertedly teaching them?? That beauty is blond? That adventure belongs to children who look like Ms. Kristyna with light hair and blue eyes?

This wasn’t just a teaching gap. It was an identity crisis in the making. How much learning is done as opposed to how much damage is done in the process.

That day when I got complimented on my hair, I knew we needed a new kind of heroine. One who looked like my students. One who walked barefoot in the desert, wore a flowing jalabiya from the Souq, and ate balaleet for breakfast. One who explored the world around her, not castles and enchanted forests, but Bedouin tents, dhow boats, and local beaches.

That girl is Brownylocks.

Brownylocks' real name is Maryam, after The "original" Maryam in my class, who is curious, courageous, who likes to try new things and is always up for an adventure. Her dark wavy hair is flowing down to her shoulders and her big dark eyes are saying a lot even when she is not talking.

In her first book, Brownylocks and the Honey Badgers, children step inside a desert, a setting so familiar to them that every single student in my class lights up when we get to that part. You should really see their faces, our children are starved for stories that reflect what THEY would do, stories that relect their world.

In my next book, Brownylocks and Batin the Whale Shark, (can't wait for it to be out!) Maryam is joined by her friends to go on a dhow boat adventure and explores the beauty of the Gulf’s marine life meeting whale sharks and other sea creautues Qatar sea has to offer!

These aren’t just stories.They are mirrors.

Every page of Brownylocks tells your child: You are seen. You matter. You are already enough. This isn’t just about books, it’s about building self-worth. If children never see themselves reflected in media, they grow up thinking their value lies in becoming someone else. That they are less than. With so much multiculturism in Qatar going on, the children are conditioned to look up to and to aspire to looks, characters and brands that do not represent them. They create false sense of beauty they can never reach. Brownylocks represents the opposite. So let's expose children to heroes and characters we would like them to admire. Characters with long dark wavy hair, with colorful jalabiyas eating luqaimat and learning about living things natural to Qatar.

As teachers, especially expatriates, we often bring resources from our own upbringing without realizing what it’s doing to the sense of identity in our classrooms. We’re not just teaching math or stories, we’re shaping how children see themselves in the world.

If you have a little Brownylocks at home, make her feel proud of herself. Feel free to browse Brownylocks goodies and find keepsakes that boost our children self-worth and plant the right values in our ever-so-impressional children:

"I Am Proud to Be Me" Poster. A beautiful reminder for children to celebrate who they are. Available in the Shop.

Brownylocks Gold Name Necklace Inspired by Maryam’s necklace in Book 2. (coming soon!) A special keepsake to help children be proud of their identity. You can find it in the Shop.

Let’s Start a Movement

If this story resonated with you, here’s how you can help:

✅ Share this post with another teacher or parent

✅ Post a photo of your child with their book/necklace/poster using #BrownylocksMoment

✅ Read the first Brownylocks story with your class or family

Together, let’s help every child in Qatar, and beyond, to say: “I am proud to be me.”