This Hair Belongs

With lyrical, simile-studded prose and crisp, radiant illustrations, Brown-Wood and Robinson craft a powerful portrait of Black hair as artistry, inheritance, and pride. After establishing that “this hair/ grew/ from the scalps of kings and queens,” comparative lines liken waves, spirals, and curls to African landscapes, including “rivers that span Africa’s grand land”; winds blowing sands in the Namib, Kalahari, and Sahara deserts; and the albuca plant. Locks’ arrayed traits are described next in text that references ancestors’ actions and experiences (“While it may tangle, tangle it is told that this hair hid grains and seeds later planted to grow and fill our ancestors’ bellies”). Textural jewel-toned visuals portray Black hair as both crown and connection across time: “This hair belongs in the past, the now, the future, in the real and the imagined, in the myth and in the legend.” Includes an author’s note and contextualizing back matter. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)