Braided Roots: The Interweaving of History, Family, and a Father’s Love

PreS-Gr 2–As a young girl’s father lovingly braids her long hair, she reflects on how the braid links her to her close relatives and distant ancestors. As pink and brown ribbons are woven into a girl’s brown hair, her father tells her, “Our hair is our story. It tells us who we are, where we come from.” She looks at pictures displayed on the wall, including ones of her great-grandparents who “walked that beaten down path from Mississippi to Oklahoma” to her fourth great-grandmother, “enslaved like her ma, owned like her pa.” When the braid is done, the girl’s father looks on with pride as the girl twirls, her skirt and braid flying. The debut author based the story on her own life, and shares that she is of Black and Native American ancestry, and that some of her relatives were forced out of their homeland to walk the notorious Trail of Tears. Though the story resonates with the bond between a father and a daughter, too many questions are left unanswered for younger readers about the father’s pain, walking the trail, and what enslaved means. Without context provided by a caregiver or teacher, the main point of the story is easily overlooked. It’s a fine idea, but a somewhat disjointed result. Characters are depicted by Goodnight (Janie Writes a Play: Jane Yolen’s First Great Story) with brown skin. Includes an author’s note.