Review by Booklist Review
"My hair is big, my hair is beautiful. Big like clouds, SO beautiful it draws a crowd." This melodic ode exemplifies the love and confidence a young girl has in her naturally large and curly hair. Engel's vivid and imaginative illustrations, multimedia paintings dense with warm colors and fantastical imagery, combat questions and comments while embracing the uniqueness and versatility of the girl's hair. This title is perfect for any young person, but especially those with manes of beautiful kinks and curls. Though racial and cultural specificity is important, this is strengthened by the racial ambiguity of the little girl, offering mirror images to curly-haired little ones regardless of their background. Different from other natural hair books, Marroquin's take gives young people language to set boundaries for their hair as an extension of their bodies, which will give confidence beyond measure. Curly-haired or not, readers of this title are sure to be entranced by its poetic language and creative artistic approach.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
What's a kid to do when some people always want to know "Why is your hair so BIG?" In Marroquin's debut, the narrator, who wears fluffy natural curls that are almost as tall as she is, tackles this question with courage and pizzazz, setting boundaries with those who ask, "Can I touch? Does it feel rough?" Engel's vibrant images, a mix of acrylics, oils, and collage, visualize the child's "tresses that enchant" as natural elements: "Calm as a summer breeze,/ Powerful as ferocious bears" and "Hot as the desert sun,/ Cool as winter rain." In bright colors, the images portray the child with hair covered in bright clouds, musical notes, and an entire forest. This sweet appreciation of a confident Black child and her beautiful, versatile hair declares, "My hair is ME!" Ages 4--8. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
If hair could talk, this little brown-skinned girl's exuberant Afro would have a lot to say. This picture book's unnamed first-person protagonist is constantly asked, "Why is your hair so BIG?" To which she answers, "Why isn't yours?" Centering her own beauty and the uniqueness of her hair, she recounts, in verse, how people touch her hair and ask her other persistent, microaggressive questions. Appearing differently on every page--an accurate reflection of the versatility of highly textured hair--her magical locks are never the same color twice, exhibiting as much verve and life as the wearer does herself. In some illustrations, the little girl's hair dominates the page; sometimes her coils emit music; sometimes they are composed of stylized, multicolored clouds or resemble rolling ocean waves in blues and greens. Engel's rich, sometimes surreal illustrations abound with textures and colors--deep purples, royal blues, sunny yellows--that embody the protagonist's unique personality. The creators' notes indicate that both Marroquin and Engel have personal connections with hair that attracts a lot of attention. Engel even notes that, in her childhood, school bylaws required straightened hair. An excellent addition to a growing genre. This uplifting, body-positive story will empower kids with highly textured hair to take pride in every inch of it. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
