Hair Story

I LOVED this book. It was so strong and powerful. I loved how well it flowed and rhymed, and I really appreciated the bilingual element! I also loved seeing the Fro-ments in history! Great book. My girls will love reading it and seeing their hair. I hope to memorize some of the rhymes to help them stay still while I do their hair!

I enjoyed this book because I hope it will help children feel more confident with their own natural hair. The illustrations were cute and the rhyming nature of the story was interesting.

Aww, this is such a sweet story featuring two girls celebrating their hair. The rhymes are funny and diverse, and the artwork is seriously cute. The rhymes incorporate English and Spanish, too, which I really liked. Definitely a great book for young kids!

This book was different from what I expected. I teach poetry through out the year and this is the first time I have seen free verse written in this manner. I intend to include this book in my unit on nontraditional rhymes. I wish there were an audio component.

I really enjoyed the depiction of friendship between a Black and nonBlack Puerto Rican girl and their moms in an urban setting. I have attended trainings on including happy rep of people of color on my shelf and this book delivers in word and art. This book is not just about a hair story. It is also a celebratory story about pride in brownness and Blackness.

It’s refreshing to read a book that so joyfully celebrates difference while naturally expressing friendship. I love the historical and pop culture context with the back matter. I love the illustrations, and the prose is exquisite. A true own-voices work of art that will be loved by my children and many others. Thanks for this.

Why I liked the Prose:

The prose is exuberant and hits beautiful emotional beats. The rhyme is not tied to traditional rhyming structure and is fresh and flows with feeling.

Why I like the Illustrations

They are vibrant and joyful and help make the bigger vocabulary words accessible.

Why I like the Back Matter:

The books invites children to be proud of their community and proud of their ancestral roots.

Note: Diversity includes code-switching and "slang." I appreciate the integration of slang like "4 eva" and vocabulary like "algorhithm." Our BIPOC students are often multilingual and code switchers.

This book is absolutely stunning. The illustrations and colors are vibrant and inviting. The rhyming text is wonderful. I can't wait for this book to be published!

I loved this book! We need more kids books like this to help normalize textured hair. I loved the illustrations and the rhyming. I also loved that they showed historical figures with their hair!

A bilingual Spanish picture book celebrating all the different style of hair using lyrical language and rhythmic prose. Mixed media of drawn and paper, the art highlights the richness of the Puerto Rican Culture and all of its diversity.

There are many books about hair but this one brings its own unique style to the genre and even has a great section of historical and current people and their hair!

A nice addition, perfect as a lapsit book.

This is such an endearing, modern story for young readers to understand the cultural experience of those like themselves or others. The writing itself is sweet and I love the mix of languages. The illustrations are beautiful and I think the illustrator's process in creating those images is really interesting. Beautiful story!

A wonderfully illustrated book about two young girls and how they play Hair Salon designing their hair inspired by their Moms and other famous people. Beautiful Illustrations! Great for kids of all ages. I do recommend it. Thanks to #netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

Hair Story by NoNieqa Ramos is written in verse. I can see young children with afros singing bits of this book to themselves and whoever is working on their hair as they wait. It is an amazing book that celebrate the culture, history, diversity, and beauty behind afros. It even includes a mural of wonderful people throughout history that rocked or rock a beautiful afro. This book also features a glossary with definitions for the Spanish and English vocabulary words readers may not know. It would be a wonderful edition to a child's personal library or a classroom library.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the inclusion of 'slang' terms and images that all different kinds of children can relate to. Too often, children's books get too literary with their language and I find that they may not be as relatable to the intended audience. Code switching is a real-life way of speaking for many people and I love that this book represents that by using English and Spanish words intertwined together.

The prose in this book is lovely, with a wonderful message and invitation to children to be proud of their heritage, their ancestry and proud of the way they look. I also enjoyed the short biographies at the end of the book.

The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful--when I read it with my girls (age 3 and 5); they really loved looking at all the pictures and the little details on the pages.

A unique and valuable addition to any child's bookshelf!

Thank you, NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Phenomenal picture book! Vibrant illustrations bring the story to life. The natural and rhythmic incorporation of Spanish fits perfectly. The inclusion of Black, Latinx, and Afro-Latinx characters broaden the appeal of an already excellent story about self-acceptance and joy.

Love, love, LOVE this picture book! The illustrations are so beautiful, lively, and engaging. Between that and the
lyrical, playful language, the kids would be mesmerized reading this during circle time.

This would also be a wonderful book to have on a classroom or home bookshelf--I can see a young girl pulling it down many times just to pore over the pictures and see herself in a story.

I really appreciated the extra information at the end regarding the mural as well as the glossary. As someone with minimal exposure to Puerto Rican or Black culture, I'm grateful for resources to educate myself and get answers to questions without having to impose on someone to ask.

Preciosa’s hair won’t stay straight, and Rudine’s hair resists all the rules. Together, they play girl’s hair salon and discover the majesty and beauty of black and brown girls’ hair. They learn about and get inspiration for natural hair from moms, their neighbors, their ancestors, and cultural icons. Told in rhyming verse with beautiful, collage art, this book is perfect for all kids, from those who want to celebrate their own natural hair to those who don’t have the same hair and can learn about others.

This little book is so much fun! There’s all kinds of things, from natural hair, to ballet terms (‘hair ballet) and learning about historical figures, both black and Latinx folks who made their mark. I would love to share this with the little ones in my life. Natural hair should be celebrated, and the more kids see themselves in media, history, and the world, the more inspired they become.

This one is out in September, so keep an eye out for it!

I LOVE THIS BOOK! This would have gone perfect with the lesson I did on hair. I especially love the the shorten biographies. This book would make a wonderful addition to my classroom.

This book was beautiful. Just beautiful. The words, the illustrations, all of it, from cover to cover.
I loved that this story featured two girls who the world would see as different, but it was shown they were so much alike. Their hair was beautiful, their families were loving, their neighborhoods were a part of who they were.
I loved that the end of the book had drawing of real life people for kids to look at and see themselves. There was a glossary and I especially liked that the words were not defined in the story itself, that the words were not written as 'other', but just like everything else.
Definitely buying this for my daughters when it comes out.

Absolutely gorgeous. The book tells the story of two young girls - one Puerto Rican and one Black - as they bond over their natural hair and grow to love their curls. The book includes lots of references to history and the ancestry of both of these girls, as well as the hair stories of so many amazing BIPOC artists and activists throughout time.

The illustrations are magnificent. Done in a collage style that really underscores both the youth of the girls and the layers of the world they are discovering.

A top-notch picture book for all children, and especially those who can see themselves and their communities represented in these pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the ARC.

I love the cover of this book. I saw it, and BAM. I knew I had to read it. Kids love rhyming books, and so do I. The illustrations in this book are great, they alone tell a story. There are some Spanish words thrown into this book since one of the girls is Latina, which makes the book interesting. The kids at my school will love this book. The kids will be able to relate to the characters in this book.

4.66 stars rounded up

We follow Preciosa and Rudine as they play hair salon and learn how to style their hair while learning how their mane holds a special connection to their ancestors.

Keisha Morris did a marvelous job with her illustrations; they are inclusive, bright, fun, and vibrant. They complimented NoNieqa Ramos' story beautifully. Both celebrated and empowered diversity. I loved the story and how rhythmic the words were. I stuttered a little bit reading it as I don't speak Spanish, and I appreciate the words translated at the end. I will have to say that, even though I couldn't understand the terms, the meaning of each verse was obvious.

I feel the school-aged children would love this book, it can be used as an introduction to Spanish, and it's a great addition to any library that is intentional about books with representation and own voices. I feel this book will empower many little girls out there.

I loved that there were mentions of famous people with hair similar to the protagonists at the end. The author went further and signified their importance by having blurbs highlighting these figure's accomplishments.
Highly recommend this book.


Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to NoNieqa Ramos,
Lerner Publishing Group, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Hair Story.
#NoNieqaRamos #LernerPublishingGroup #HairStory #ChildrenLiterature #KeishaMorris #NetGalley

Through vibrant and beautiful illustrations and powerful language, Ramos uses Hair Story to help children embrace their hair and the heritage it relates back to. The book is absolutely beautiful and should be in every elementary classroom!

Oh, Hair Story!
What a healing read you were for the little Black girl in me that didn’t see her hair celebrated once in a book when she was growing up. Young kings and queens who get their hands on this book will leave feeling seen and valued!

Hair Story follows a Nubian and Tíano Queen on a tangled-up journey that ends with the realization that they are queens BECAUSE of their hair and not in spite of it.

NoNieqa’s words are affirming, celebratory, poetic, and fun!The text is so authentic. And as my lips danced through the text of what will be a great read aloud, I loved exploring the slang and Spanglish words throughout. I felt immersed in their hair and cultures simultaneously.

Keisha’s art made the hair the star of the story right from the cover! The textures and color throughout were used in such a great way to tell this story and give us setting. The spread with Abuelita is my favorite and melting so much culture into the clouds throughout the Art was a beautiful choice.

I can’t wait to get a copy of this book! Thank you for the ARC!

A great book to teach small children about different hair textures and why it's important to respect other people's hairstyles.
I have a boy but I love finding books that are inclusive and teach him about other cultures and races. This book helped me to open the conversation about different hair textures and why some of his friends' hair and hairstyles are different than his. It was a beautifully written book and I loved the inclusion of Spanish as well.
The illustrations are gorgeous and the prose was easy to follow for my six year old boy.

This book was received as an ARC from Lerner Publishing Group - Carolrhoda Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a wonderful book of beauty and diversity. I loved how the girls were playing salon together and using what their mothers have taught them in doing their hair. My hair used to resist products, hair tools and accessories to the point where your hair had a mind of its own resisting it all and just wants to be free to be itself. That is exactly what Preciosa and Rudine's hair did for themselves but after looking up some cultural icons and discovering their hair genes, Preciosa and Rudine embraced their hair from the roots to its overall style. I know this book will circulate well in our picture book collection and I can't wait to share it with our young readers.

We will consider adding this title to our Picture Book collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

What a beautiful story of heritage and belonging all wrapped up in a story about hair. I loved learning more about hair and culture through this picture book. I cannot wait to add it to my collection in the fall.

This is a beautiful story, told skillfully with many layers of details, and with gorgeous illustrations. I was drawn to the cover and subject matter. I expected to read about the hair of a given character at a given age. I loved that the story went beyond that and incorporated a story of 2 girls growing through several stages of childhood and that it incorporated Puerto Rican culture and black history. I appreciate that the phrase pelo malo was included, and then appreciated that pelo was repeated in combinations with other words: pelo flow, pelo grow, pelo cyclone, pelo-city, etc. The main story would be great for children as young as 3. The additional information at the end would be a great extension for ages 6-9.

Hair Story by NoNieqa Ramos is a wonderful story delightful story of two young girls of different backgrounds who have their own unique, yet familiar hair story. They find friendship through the connection of hair and family history. This book not only shows the beautiful history behind their hair-itage, but it shows some of the common frustrations that come with it that I believe many readers, young and old, will resonate with. The book also shows some great "fro-ments" in our current and modern history.

Also, Keisha Morris's illustrations give you a modern facelift to the nostalgic feel of Eric Carle's illustrations that just made me happy.

All in all, I found Hair Story to be a pleasant read, and my biracial daughter loved it as well!

What a beautiful book! Fro-ments; I love it! This book will be handy for many parents to help them teach their children to love their hair. It is such an important identity marker, that I am pleased to see a book about it. The bilingual aspect of this book is something I appreciate as well. I hope to add more bilingual books to my library.

I must admit that curly hair amazed me for quite some times already. They mesmerized me, seeing how pretty they look. Therefore I picked this book to read as an advanced reader copy.

Though the author did her magic in free-style poems, her intention of writing a powerful message for young kids, mostly black kids and Puerto-ricains kids, is delivered beautifully. You might have curly and difficult-to-tame hairs, but they are beautiful. And being yourself is what make you gorgeous.