Hair Love - Matthew A. Cherry - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Matthew A. Cherry

ILLUSTRATOR: Vashti Harrison

GENRE: Children's Picture Book.

PUBLICATION DATE: May 14, 2019

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: An adorable picture book about a little girl and her father indulging in some genuine hair love. Great characters, sweet story, fabulous illustrations. One part of the story could be interpreted in multiple ways, so there's flexibility. Much recommended.

Plot Preview:

Zuri has "hair with a mind of its own". Every day, her Daddy helps her style it whatever way she wants, and she always loves his efforts. But today is an important day, and she wants her hair to look extra-special. Nothing Daddy creates looks outstanding. Will the duo be able to figure out a creative hairstyle before a special someone comes home?

The story comes to us in Zuri's first-person perspective.

Note: This review contains plot spoilers, but it's just a picture book, so I hope you'll pardon the reveals.

I had first heard of this story not as a book but as a movie that won the Best Animated Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2019. I found the movie really cute, but it's only after all these years that I could finally read the picture book (also released in 2019 a few months before the movie.) No surprises, it's equally sweet.

Most people seem fascinated by straight hair, but I've always loved curls. As such, if there's any book that advocates curl love (and there are quite a few of them these days!), I love to get my hands on it. This zeal has resulted in my finding some lovely books on accepting and loving your curls. But ‘Hair Love’ stands out in this category for various wonderful reasons.

For one, Zuri isn't shown struggling to accept her curly hair the way most protagonists with curly hair do. Rather, she's proud of it for letting her be herself, and loves experimenting with funky hairstyles. I adore her self-confidence!

Further, Zuri's father is the one making the hairstyle she wants. It's a great way of showing dads that bonding over hair needn't be a mother-daughter thing. The fact that Zuri's dad is sketched as a manly man with tattoos and dreadlocks highlights how his masculinity isn't frail enough to be insecure about combing his daughter's hair.

One part where the book differs significantly from the movie is in the interpretation of the "special day". The movie shows Zuri and her father visiting her mother in a hospital room, where she is sitting in a wheelchair and waiting for them to take her home. Her head is covered in a scarf, and when she removes it, we see that she's completely bald, possibly as a result of chemotherapy. The book doesn't specify the reason for Mummy's absence from home. She returns home by herself, no hospital visit involved. And while her head is covered with a scarf and her eyes look sunken, the reason for her absence isn't specified. So it could be attributed to anything, making the book more flexible and wider in reach than the movie.

At the same time, the sudden jump in direction, more noticeable in the movie but also indirectly visible in the book, is surprising. Until that point, all we think is that we are reading a book about hair and loving your hair and accepting it with all its kinks. But with the focus shifting to Mummy’s return in the finale, it felt like the book aimed for one destination but ended somewhere else altogether. The book still manages to insert the ‘hair’ idea into the ending, but it felt a little forced.

The story is written in simple text, with only a few lines per page. This makes the book a wonderful option for ages 5 to 7. The story can be read to younger children as well, but there's a lot happening behind the scenes but not explicitly mentioned in the text (such as why Zuri's dad is more tired lately.) This might come out better through discussions.

The illustrations are outstanding. Every single page highlights little Zuri's zest for life, her love for her father, and her passion for getting her hair right. And her hair is truly so adorable! The colouring is in lovely pastel shades against a white background – perfect!

Can't forget to mention Rocky the cat, Zuri's sidekick and equally loveable.

Overall, this was one beautiful storybook doing exactly what the tagline promises: "a celebration of daddies and daughters everywhere."

Definitely recommended. This book is a great option for homes as well as classrooms for topics of self-acceptance, body image, and of course, hair love.

Fun fact: The author is a former NFL player! 🏈

You can watch the Oscar-winning short film legally using this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNw8V_Fkw28