Wanda the brave

Nontshokweni turns the familiar story of a Black girl learning to love her hair on its head by featuring a young queen with a healthy pride in her locks. Wanda is excited for her salon day with Aunty Ada, a tall-as-a-tree woman who runs a hair salon for kids. Wanda takes a seat and shows her a picture of the style she wants: a fancy arrangement of cornrows and beads. However, Aunty Ada has a different idea. Without permission, she puts a powerful (and painful!) chemical onto Wanda's hair to straighten it, telling Wanda that "you have to suffer a little bit for beauty." Eventually, an assistant washes out the chemical, and Aunty Ada braids Wanda's crown. When Wanda's mother arrives, she is horrified by her daughter's experience; she reprimands Aunty Ada and tells Wanda that no one has a right to touch her hair or body in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable. Readers familiar with the salon experience will find resonance in the cultural backdrop of the illustrations, which feature bright, uplifting colors as well as Aunty Ada's patterned outfit and headwrap. A natural companion to Derrick Barnes' Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut (2017), this is also an excellent book to help relay the message inherent to California's 2019 CROWN Act.

Sometimes kids must speak out until adults listen. In this follow-up to Wanda (2021), co-authored by Mathabo Tlali and also set in South Africa, the protagonist and her mom go to O'Natural, a hair salon for children run by Aunty Ada. Wanda has brought a picture of a complicated, "pineapple-looking," braided hairstyle she wants, but Aunty Ada dismisses Wanda's wishes because the salon is busy. Aunty Ada slathers Vaseline and then cream on Wanda's hair, and it starts to burn. She and Nkiruka, another girl, protest, but Ada tells them "ubuhle buyasetyenzelwa," isiXhosa (a South African Bantu language) for "One works hard for beauty," and insists that the straightening chemicals remain in their hair longer despite the pain. Both girls confide that their teachers call their hair a bird's nest when they wear it natural, and together they sing a protest song to get Aunty Ada to wash out the relaxer. The two are successful, their determination conveying a crucial lesson both to Aunty Ada and to readers about bodily autonomy. This story sheds light on a common beauty practice of chemically straightening Black hair--a process that often causes painful scalp burns. This brightly colored picture book, dominated by pinks and purples, showcases the beauty of brown skin and natural Black hair, as well as the versatility of hair, and spotlights beauty practices common throughout the African diaspora. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Whether a mirror or window for readers, this culturally rich story exemplifies the importance of self-advocacy. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.