Illustrated by Sophie Bass 5 stars Absolutely stunning. Weaving together a Rapunzel narrative with the history of enslaved Africans using cornrow patterns to navigate their journey to freedom, Cooke creates a compelling, empowering, and magical tale. Wonderfully written with flowing narration. A lengthy text but certainly worth the read. I love how empowering the narrative…
Read More
Illustrated by Danielle Arrington 3.5 stars A sweet story about treating your hair with love and kindness. With the help of her older sister, a young girl learns how to care for her hair and treat it like a friend. The story goes through various steps of hair care, pointing out when the be gentle…
Read More
3 stars As delightfully weird as it looks. A fun early chapter book with entertaining full-color illustrations. Princess Pink is not a princess and she does not like pink. One night, when she opens her fridge for a late-night snack, she discovers the Land of Fake-Believe. There, she meets Moldylocks and the two new friends…
Read More
4 stars Hyalin is a magical world where witches’ hair length indicates their power. But those whose hair is deemed too long are declared enemies of the kingdom and annihilated. Years ago, Nyneve’s father met such a fate. Now she is determine to keep under the radar of the conscription officials and hide her true…
Read More
Illustrated by London Ladd 5 stars Stunning! A fantastic ode to hair and heritage. Through poetic text, the narrator connects hair to history, telling tales of iconic figures, sports, dance, and afternoons spent in the kitchen together. It connects family, culture, strength, and love. Beautifully written. I especially enjoyed all the creative wordplay. The artwork…
Read More
Illustrated by Geneva Bowers 5 stars A gorgeous, lush celebration of Black hair and self-confidence. Told through lyrical narration, a young girl shares some of her favorite hairstyles as she waits for her mother to reveal her latest creation. I loved the different facets expressed through different hair styles, from whimsical to majestic, mischievous to…
Read More
Illustrated by Crystal Kung 5 stars A unique and entertaining retelling of Rapunzel. Ra Pu Zel is a princess who loves food, but isn’t so interested in meeting princes and acting like her parents think she should. So one day, she locks herself in a tower with her dog to enjoy cooking and trying different…
Read More
Illustrated by Lorian Tu 3 stars A sweet book with straightforward text and wonderful illustrations centered around body neutrality. A wonderful exploration of what bodies can do and how people use their bodies everyday. Bodies are described in terms of how they look and feel, their different needs, and what they do in neutral terms….
Read More
Illustrated by Airin O’Callaghan 5 stars Perfection! I love this book so much. Beautiful illustrations. Catchy rhymes. All around positivity and great messages about body acceptance, differences, and celebrating all the ways bodies exist. The text flows nicely with a great rhythm and a catchy rhyme scheme. A joy to read and it really sings…
Read More
Featuring Dorian Alexander, Archie Bongiovanni, Sage Coffey, Shelby Criswell, Dylan Edwards, Julia Bernhard, JB Brager, Rosa Colon Guerra, Max Dlabick, Trinidad Escobar, Mady G, Alex Graudins, Binglin Hu, Shing Yin Khor, Kazimir Lee, Melanie Gillman, Levi Hastings, Robyn Jordan, Maia Kobabe, Matt Lubchansky, Mariah-Rose Marie, Jason Michaels, Sfe R. Monster, Breena Nunez, Elisabet Run, Ria…
Read More