If My Hair Had a Voice

Gr 1-5–Kimya is frustrated with the struggles of getting her natural hair styled and wonders why it can’t be straightened. Her grandmother encourages her to take pride in her afro-textured hair. It has a story to tell. Taking to heart what her grandmother says, Kimya looks at her community and the diversity within it and gets curious about the history of her hair, thus choosing afro-textured hair as the topic for her history project. Her research takes her to the library, museum, and online. Kimya finds out about the vastness of the African continent, reluctantly learns of the trans-Atlantic slave trade where Africans had their hair cut off, learns of the Crown Act Law, and of the multitude of hairstyles and their cultural significance in Africa. Her knowledge leads her to love her hair that represents so much history and tradition. The illustrations beautifully capture the different skin tones among Black people and a diverse array of hairstyles. This text demonstrates the research process adequately, with Kimya using various resources to gather information for the project.