Happy Hair

by Mechal Renee Roe

The New York Times best-selling illustrator of Vice President Kamala Harris's S uper Heroes Are Everywhere creates a joyful, positive, read-together book celebrating Black and Brown g irls with natural hair. Kids everywhere will be chanting its celebratory "I love being me!"

Full 'fro, cute bow! I love being me! Smart girl, cool curls! I love being me!

Girls will love seeing strong, happy reflections of themselves in this vibrant, rhythmic book full of beautiful Black hairstyles. From a cute crop to pom-pom puffs, adorable illustrations of girls with gorgeous braids, blowouts, and bantus grace each page, side by side with a positive message that will make girls cheer. It's a great read-aloud to promote self-esteem for girls of all ages, building and growing the foundation of self-love (and hair love!) and letting every girl know "You are made beautiful!"

Look for all the books in the Happy Hair
• Cool Cuts
• I'm Growing Great
• Smart Sisters
• I Love Being Me! (Step Into Reading)
• I Am Born to Be Awesome! (Step Into Reading)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, African American, Cultural, Fashion, Kids, Self Esteem

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 19, 2014

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that teaches positivity no matter what your hair style! Lighthearted yet addressing a very specific issue. In my own experience I can say that some of the nicest people I have ever met did not conform to hair styles that the general public accepted; hair style should not be used to judge a person or their character. Nice illustrations!

[Christina Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is, what rock was I living under in 2014 that I had not yet the great pleasure of reading Mechal Renee Roe's book, Happy Hair?! I fixed that oversight today and oh my-CUTENESS OVERLOAD! But it's much more than that. Yes, the colors are popping (Love the bright yellow cover speckled with pink hearts). Yes, each little girl is absolutely adorable. Yes, it is full of fabulous hairstyles with accessories that are on point, but this book is most importantly a mirror, affirming to its reader that their hair is beautiful, however they choose to wear it. And this book has hair-dos for days. Braids and locs, fros and crops, hair that's freshly primped and pressed, with each page declaring, "I love being me." This book is meant to be gifted and that's exactly what I intend to do.

[Jenell · Rating 5 out of 5]

LB really loved this one. We read it 3x in one sitting. She loved “all the Black girls” (representation) and their “fancy hair and clothes”— styles she’s familiar with and others she wants us to try. She found the image of all of the hair supplies in the last page “sooo funny” and familiar. LB also found the repetition of the line “I love being me” comforting and empowering (as she swayed, jumped up and down, and pointed to herself). I appreciated the language used to describe the hairstyles through the book. The author included not only the names of the different styles, but also the language often used by Black women and girls to describe their hair and clothing. Such a good book.

[Octavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girly Glow! "i love being me!" 🎀

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet, much-needed book chock full of black representation and hair positivity.  With short, snappy rhymes and cute cartoonish illustrations, Roe takes us on a journey of the various different ways in which young black girls can choose to wear their hair, such as afros, in a wrap, or bantus.  Overall, Happy Hair is a positive, refreshing look at something many people have taken for granted.  This is great for beginning readers through kindergarten!  

Review cross-listed here!

[Gwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish i had a book like this when i was a little girl.

So empowering. Every little Black girl can feel beautiful about themselves and their hair. I highly recommend this book for children of all ages.

[Lindsay Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is dedicated to every girl who has ever doubted her beauty, her strength & her courageous spirit! Release her!

[Robbi C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute! Love the illustrations too’

[Isabel B Sanchez]

This book is for kids under 3, giving affirmations and highlighting the importance of natural hairstyles. This book teaches the importance in loving yourself and embracing who you are and what you look like. I love how this book gives confidence to the reader no matter what hair type you have and really emphasis to be proud of the person we are regardless of our skin color or hair texture.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is basically just like looking at a Tumblr full of straight up adorable pictures of black girls with all manner of straight up adorable hair (and perfectly crafted looks). So bright and joyous and did I mention straight up adorable?

[Mollie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different hair styles, super rhyme scheme. Great for toddler storytime.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

☝🏾 One of my favorite picture books ever! 💕👸🏾

[QueenAmidala28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book - the details on the illustrations are perfection and the positive wording about each hairstyle is on point! I love that EACH and EVERY hairstyle is applauded AND that the author makes sure that the kids know that whatever hairstyle they have are unique and beautiful! The styles include everything from natural locs to blowouts and press and curls. (Where was this book when I was growing up???)

In my opinion, the only downfall is that I wish this book included other cultures in it. Don't get me wrong, this book is greatly needed in our world, but it could be a total game changer if it included multiracial kids.

I highly recommend this book for all preschool kids as the colors are vibrant, textured and nice and large so that you can point and feel the illustrations as you read them. I can't wait for her next book!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming text on the (mostly) left-hand side of this picture book matches nicely with the images of various hairstyle on the (mostly) right-hand side. Taken together, the collection of 12 different ways--plus two more on the cover and back cover-- to style the hair of black girls is empowering and celebratory. For those youngsters or their caregivers who lack imagination, this picture book provides great examples of how to do their hair in a creative way while pounding down that positive message of self-acceptance found on every other page: "I love being me!" (unpaged). It's hard to resist the book's exuberance, making this one an excellent choice for a lap read or a read aloud with a child and an adult.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun little read is great for beginners. This sturdy book shares creative illustrations of various types of natural hairdos. Each image points out how these little cuties love being themselves with their adorable hair styles. Readers will see afros, braids, puffs, bantu buns and even a fro-hawk.

Parents and caregivers can use this as a tool to teach self-esteem, embracing culture and to be happy with who you are. It’s also a great way to share other types of hair styles and what products are used to get the perfect hairdo.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a 10/10 and I love it!! It gives great visuals of different ways a black girl can style her hair. From a silk press, blow out, braids, head scarf, afro, puff poms , and a lot more. I think this is a good visual for young children, one: other children can see how many different styles a young black girl can do with her hair; it'll open their eyes to how diverse other kids are. Two, it shows all young black girls that their hair is beautiful in many different styles and they still love who they are. Their hair is also their crown and to be proud of it.

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book aims to make young black girls feel confident about their hair and assures its readers that black hair can come in different styles, textures, etc. Somewhat unique to the book, it also has spawned its own hair care line for youth that is pictured at the end of the book. Therefore, parents who are interested in reading the book and using positive products at the same time can do so with their children.

[Marfita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mechal Renee Roe is lucky to have such versatile hair. My own hair is wimpy, dull with age, and thinning. In this book of cheerful rhymes she shows off the myriad of styles for an African-American girl's hair. And no beads! Each style is pictured on girls of all shades with the most serene faces of quiet confidence.
Just makes me envious.

[ASE · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really cute! I love the artwork--it's chic and graphic while also being cute. The rhymes were a nice touch, and I like that it offered the names of specific hairdos as well. I think that would be great for young ones who love beauty and hair. I will say I wasn't a big fan of the mantra on loving being me. It felt a little overplayed.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great positive self-image book, where "I love being me" is on every way with all the beautiful ways we, and hair is different.

This book is geared towards girls with every page being a girl. It is a simple book, that a girl scout troop or an all girl's group could benefit from reading. Otherwise, parents with daughters should definitely read this one together.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that features beautiful hairstyles for black and brown girls. The illustrations are modern and promote the individual style of each young lady. I think girls will enjoy seeing the styles and reading the matching verse. It is a celebration of hair and beauty. Highly recommended for Grade K-5.

[Penelope Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, creative look at being different and embracing that difference. Inspiring for girls of any age, including moms of girls. Cool Cuts is the boys’ version. Just as valid!
Congrats, Mechal for making yourself seen and heard.

[Bunmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Girl (Hair) Magic

Black Hair is magnificent! And this is such a celebration of all the different styles and looks our locks can rock. Whether is a fro, in twists, pressed, or chopped off, your hair is beautiful and Roe makes sure Black little girls know that.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade Range: K-4th grade
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
Review: I think this was a good book that incorporates different hairstyles. I really liked that this book said after each hair that they "love being me". I think this would help with students not loving themselves for being who they are.

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caretakers of young black girls, this book is so much fun to have! With its fun rhymes and bright illustrations, Happy Hair is full of loving ones hair and how much fun it can be to try all sorts of different styles.

[Madison Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
Grade Level: K-1

This book is such a wonderful story! I love this message of loving who you are and how you were made! The illustrations are adorable, and this message is so great, especially for girls of color! I love love love this book!!

[Kiersten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy hair is what I wish I would have read when I was younger. I remember not liking my natural hair because of its texture, and this book helps further foster a positive self-image of the child.

[Annese · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADORABLE! Simple and sweet, easy to read, wonderful picture, quality rhymes. A colleague felt inspired to read it out loud, and I love it even more.

[Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celebration of Black girls' hair styles. Adults will need to help young readers with the repeated cursive phrase, "I love being me."

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vibrant celebration of the versatility of black hair.