My Hair Is Magic!
by M L Marroquin (Author) Tonya Engel (Illustrator)
This little girl knows her hair is great just as it is. When people ask, "Why is your hair so BIG?" she answers, "Why isn't yours?" Her hair is soft, it protects her, it's both gentle and fierce.
While some might worry about how it's different and try to contain it, she gives it the freedom to be so extraordinary it almost has a life of its own. Told in bold verse and vivid, fantastical illustrations, these critical questions will ring familiar, and the proud, confident answers show that what really matters is how readers see themselves.
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Publishers Weekly
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.)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
* "This uplifting, body-positive story will empower kids with highly textured hair to take pride in every inch of it." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "This sweet appreciation of a confident Black child and her beautiful, versatile hair declares, 'My hair is ME!'" —Publishers Weekly, starred reviewM.L. Marroquin is a reading intervention teacher whose interests include drawing, watching movies, and going to the beach. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her two daughters, who she assures have beautiful hair any way they wear it. This is her debut picture book.
Tonya Engel is an artist who has had studios in New York, Paris, Austin and Houston, where she lives now. Figurative and full of symbolism, her work is influenced by both folk artists of the Deep South and contemporary masters like Frida Kahlo and Marc Chagnall. She is also the illustrator of Rise!, a children's biography of Maya Angelou (Lee & Low, 2019).JUV011010 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JUV014000 - Juvenile Fiction | Girls & Women
JUV074000 - Juvenile Fiction | Diversity & Multicultural
