I Love My Hair! [Paperback]

Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

This whimsical, evocative story about a girl named Keyana encourages African-American children to feel good about their special hair and be proud of their heritage. A BlackBoard Children's Book of the Year. Full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"In this gracefully told story, a young African-American heroine celebrates her lovely head of hair as part of her heritage," wrote PW. Ages 3-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2?A young African-American girl describes the familiar mother-daughter nightly ritual of combing the tangles out of her hair. When she cries because it hurts, her sympathetic mother tells her how lucky she is to have such beautiful hair. Imaginatively, the woman goes on to say that she can spin it into a fine, soft bun or "plant rows of braids" along her scalp, prompting her daughter to think of other wonderful things she likes about her hair. The superb watercolor illustrations move from the intimacy and security of Keyana's bedroom to the neighborhood streets and finally to the whole world as her mother's imagery becomes reflected in the art. Keyana's hair is spun on a spinning wheel, becomes part of rows of plants in a garden, and merges with a globe of the whole world. The child's favorite style, however, is two ponytails that flap like wings on each side of her head, and the final picture is of Keyana triumphantly flying free against the blue sky. Pictures and text reflect the expanding horizons of the child's world as she learns to be proud of her distinctive hair and her heritage. Carolivia Herron's Nappy Hair (Knopf, 1997) and Alexis De Veaux's The Enchanted Hair Tale (HarperCollins, 1991) treat the same subject well, but this book has a simpler text that can be used both as a read-aloud to a group or on a mother's lap. A very special book about self-acceptance.?Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316523755
• ISBN-13: 978-0316523752
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.1 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Explore the World > General
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Issues > Multiculturalism
  • #4 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Multiculturalism

More About the Author

Natasha Anastasia Tarpley is the author of the best-selling picture book I Love My Hair!, Princess Tiana and the Royal Ball, and other acclaimed titles for children and adults. Her children's books are on the recommended-reading lists of school and library systems worldwide. A former reporter for Fortune magazine, she is the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Ms. Tarpley is the founder of Voonderbar! Productions, LLC, a multimedia children's entertainment company. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Reflective Commentary On I Love My Hair, December 1, 2000

By 

Johnston Carmel (Clemson University, Clemson, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Love My Hair! (Hardcover)

Roethler, Jacque. "Reading in Color: Children's Book Illustrations and Identity Formation for Black Children in the United States." African America Review 32.1 (1998): 95-104. Tarpley, Natasha Anastasia. I Love My Hair. Illus. E. B. Lewis. Canada: Little, Brown and Company 1998. In I Love My Hair, the author reflects on a little girl's experience of her mother fixing her hair. Although Keyana's experience of getting her hair fixed is not always pleasant, the outcome is always pleasing. While Keyana's mother fixes her hair, she tells Keyana how beautiful her hair is and that she is lucky to have the kind of hair that she does. Once when Keyana's mother fixes her hair in an afro, the kids at school teased her, but then her teacher told her that she should be proud of her hair and that the afro style is a statement of pride in her African heritage. Through her mother's and her teacher's encouragement, Keyana learns to appreciate and love her hair as well as herself. I like this book for various reasons. First the main character is Afro-American. During my childhood, I was not exposed to books in which the main characters and illustrations reflected African American culture and values. The beginning of I Love My Hair depicts a situation that is so familiar among African American communities: Keyana sits between her mother's legs, squeezing her eyes together as her mother combs her hair. I became nostalgic while I read that page. I believe that literature containing African Americans as central characters is vital for African American children. This view is also shared by Jacque Roethler who, in her article "Reading in Color: Children's Book Illustrations and Identity Formation for Black Children in the United States" declares that children are sensitive to illustrations. She says that one of the ways in which Afro-American children develop their schemata is through illustrations in literature. This statement alone conveys how important it is to have Afro-American characters in literature. Roethler goes even further to say that the absence of Afro-Americans from literature and illustrations is detrimental because it makes Afro-Americans invisible in society. It is important to have Afro-Americans as main characters in literature, but it is more essential that their presence be positive. Many people perceive African American physical features as ugly or in need of correcting. In I Love My Hair, Tarpley takes one of these features and refutes its long-lived misconception. In this book, Tarpley tells of the natural beauty of Afro-Americans' kinky hair texture, thus countering the myth that most Afro-American females in today's society were brought up to believe: that if you don't have "good hair" (not kinky and fuzzy), then you must straighten or relax your hair to make it beautiful. Tarpley describes the beauty of Afro-American hair when Keyana's mother tells her that because she has this kind of hair, she can fix it in any style she wishes. Her mother continues to tell her that never will she be restricted to one style: one day, she can plant rows of braids in it like rows of vegetables in a garden; the next, she can have two ponytails on the side like wings to fly away. Just as the comparisons of her hair to nature portray the naturalness and beauty of her hair because nature is beautiful, the multifaceted nature of Keyana's hair also symbolizes the versatility of the African American people. This is another reason that this book is so enjoyable. Finally, E.B. Lewis' illustrations communicate the essence of what Tarpley describes in words. The cover of this book shows Keyana smiling, with her hair in small braids with red and blue beads on the ends. In this picture, Lewis makes visible the stray strands on Keyana's braids. This picture is so beautiful to me because it looks real. The familiarity and realism of the scenes in this picture made me wonder about Lewis's race. Because of the way these illustrations capture the experience of "hair fixing," I concluded that Lewis is indeed Afro-American. . Roethler states that Afro-American illustrators, having first-hand experience, seem to know what fits naturally and are able to "touch chords" that illustrators from other cultures may not be able to caress (Roethler 98). For instance, the afro-picks, hair bows, beads, twisters, and grease are objects that African Americans associated with hair fixing and these are all pictures that appear in this book. In an illustration, Keyana's skipping down the sidewalk and in the background two girls are playing a hand game like "Miss Mary Mack". Hand games are a common tradition among African American communities. These are some things that illustrators from other cultures may not have captured. I Love My Hair captures the African American community in a positive way. This book promote the messages of accepting and loving one's self and accepting other peoples differences. Tarpley does a wonderful job of taking what is often seen as negative and showing where it is actually positive. More books of this caliber are needed.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hooray for Ethnic Hair!, February 18, 2004

By 

Demeter (North Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Love My Hair! (Hardcover)

As the cacausian mother of an African-American daughter, I am grateful for this book. My daughter hates having her hair combed. She has always cried and begged me not to do it. So I bought this book. Now she looks at the pictures and reads about Keyana and her hair while I comb through her own. It not only gives her something to do, but she doesn't feel singled out any more! Thank you to the makers of this title.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hairy delight, November 20, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Love My Hair! (Hardcover)

Natasha Anastasia Tarpley's "I Love My Hair!" is a children's book that combines an easy-to-read text with colorful illustrations by E.B. Lewis. The text represents the first-person reflections of a little Black girl named Keyana. After describing the hair care ritual she goes through with her mother, Keyana reflects on the different styles in which she can wear her hair: cornrows, an Afro, a bun, etc.

The appealing illustrations blend fantasy and reality as Keyana thinks about each hairstyle. For example, her two ponytails become wings that allow her to fly. The text is also fun. Sample line: "I love my hair because it is thick as a forest, soft as cotton candy. . ." This is an especially empowering book for Black girls, but the imaginative elements in the book also make it good for a broader audience.