I Love My Hair!

Tarpley, N. (1998). I love my hair!. New York,NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.


I Love My Hair, was written by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley. It was first published in 1998. This book is about a young girl named Keyana. Keyana's mother combs her hair every night before bed. Keyana hates it because it hurts so bad. Keyana's mother reminds her just how beautiful her hair is, and how many ways her hair can be fixed. This book teaches young students to appreciate where they come from and who they are. The may not be the same as everyone else but they are special. This book is a fictional multicultural picture book. The book is easy to read for young readers and the illustrations are full of life and color. This book is intended for ages three till eight years old. This book is culturally accurate and authentic. There is a lot of cultural details. This book honors and celebrates diversity and common bonds. For activities in the classroom you could have your older students try on different color nylons to feel as though they have different colored skin. Ask you students how they feel about each nylon. Emphasize that skin color differences are desirable. Now your students know that skin color is not really black, white, red. For younger students the teacher could read the book to the class and wear a silly wig while reading the book. Point out all the different kinds of hair. You can ask your students to draw a picture of themselves and explain what they like most about themselves. You can also have your students bring in something from their culture and explain it to the class. Like a show and tell. You can ask your students what their reaction to the book was, have they ever felt this way about themselves? Also what is their favorite part about being different?  I really enjoyed this book. This book is especially empowering for young African American girls, but the imaginative elements in this book make it appeal to a larger audience. Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, is a well known children's book author. Her books are on the recommended reading list of schools, and library systems worldwide. Another book she is well known for is Royal Ball, which is another picture book.