Lena's mother - an artist - is teaching her to paint and to mix colours and encourages her daughter to find just the right shade to capture her brown skin. Lena begins to observe the different skin tones all her friends and acquaintances, and needs to find new words - such as cinnamon, chocolate, honey, coffee, toffee and butterscotch - to describe the wide variations she notices. This is a gentle, affirmative celebration of diversity, following a child's growing awareness of the individuality of the people around her.