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Notes On Other African American Children's Books Celebrating Hair

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There are a number of children's books in which young African American girls celebrate the particular qualities of their hair. One older, but still excellent, book is

Camille Yarbrough. Cornrows. Illus. by Carole Byard. (New York: Putnam, 1979).

from: Camille Yarbrough. Cornrows. Illus. by Carole Byard.

Three other books that are more recent are:

Barbara E. Barber. Saturday At The New You. Illus. by Anna Rich. ( New York: Lee and Low Books, 1994).

from: Barbara E. Barber. Saturday At The New You. Illus. by Anna Rich.

Nancy Cote. Palm Trees. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993).

from: Nancy Cote. Palm Trees.

Nikki Grimes. Wild, Wild Hair. Illus. by George Ford. (New York: Scholastic, 1997).

from: Nikki Grimes. Wild, Wild Hair. Illus. by George Ford.

and

Natasha Anastasia Tarplay. I Love My Hair! Illus. by E. B. Lewis. (Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1998).

from: Natasha Anastasia Tarplay. I Love My Hair! Illus. by E. B. Lewis.

Tarplay, like the author of Nappy Hair, draws on her own childhood experiences to celebrate the wondrous possibilities of African American hair. She writes:

This is how I fell in love with my hair. When I was a little girl, my mother would often comb my hair in the evening before I went to bed. I would make myself comfortable between her knees as she rubbed sweet-smelling oil along the line of my scalp where she had parted my hair. Then she would start to comb.

Sometimes she would tell me stories to distract me from the pain of stubborn tangles. But what I enjoyed most about those evenings was being so close to my mother--the texture and sound of my hair sliding through her fingers, the different hairstyles she would create, the smell of the hair oil mixing with the lingering scent of her perfume. I loved the way we laughed and talked about the day's events, just the two of us.

Now that I am older, my mother no longer combs my hair. I found this to be very liberating at first. But once initial excitement over all the different styles I could now try began to wane, I saw that beyond the freedom lay years of struggle. I went from one phase to another with my hair: from relaxers to punk-rock spikes, from braids to barely-there short natural. Almost two years ago, I decided to grow dreadlocks. For the first time since those nights when I sat between Mom's knees, I was at peace with my hair, at home again with myself.

from: Author's Note. I Love My Hair!

Boys are not excluded from the issue of hair, in Cornrows the younger brother is eager to have his hair in cornrows.

There is a wonderful book that looks at male hair style written by Alexis Deveaux. An Enchanted Hair Tale. Illus. by Cheryl Hanna. (New York: Harper & Row, 1987).

from: Alexis Deveaux. An Enchanted Hair Tale. Illus. by Cheryl Hanna.

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