A lovely book that gives a nudge to readers about the need to move gently into uncomfortable conversations rather than avoid them completely.

A fast listen, perfect for younger readers and listeners that tackle the topic of race in a fresh, new way. The dual points of view make it perfect for all kids, allowing them to relate and learn.

Well written book with two different main characters and their alternating perspective on different topics. I liked that we could learn from a seemingly opposite perspective of our own. The illustrations in the book are nice too.

Great story in alternating voices. Tells how two people came to view the world the way they do. One white and one black. Forced to work together on a writing project in school. They talk about their experiences growing up and how they felt about the different attitudes people have towards each of them and how they were treated. This helps them learn about each other and why they look at the world the way they do.

The poems are told from the viewpoint of two different classmates, one black, one white who must work together on a poetry project. I liked that it was written by two different poets giving their unique perspectives.

This is such a great book to get the conversation around racism started with younger readers. Although the language in the poems doesn't actually always feel like the two kids are writing them, there is so much to discuss and for readers to ask about.

Since this is less wordy than a chapter book but much more than a picture book, I particularly liked it as an audiobook. The authors do a great job of reading their poems.

Highly recommend at home or in the classroom. There is lots of room to connect with history and language arts lessons!

This is a much needed, kid appropriate and also appealing way for families to start conversations about race. The audio book is well voiced and will appeal to listeners

Everyone who teaches or has young children should have this book. Appropriate for a wide range of ages, I would read this to younger children, perhaps using two voices, and use it for an activity for those aged 10-13.

I love the text and having the audiobook read by the authors made it all the more special.

It felt like poetry.

Thank you for my audiobook. We will be sharing this at my school with the children.

Such a dynamic book about diversity. Great for kids. Lots of relatable experiences throughout the poems.

Can I Touch Your Hair? by Irene Latham and Charles Waters is a poetry collection with two kids telling short stories through poems. The children are in fifth grade. The girl is white and the boy is black. Can I Touch Your Hair? does a great job explaining race differences to children in an easy to understand and interesting way.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by the authors. They did a great job and their narration added to the story.

I recommend Can I Touch Your Hair? for children.

Thank you NetGalley and Lerner Audiobooks for Can I Touch Your Hair.

Didn’t Work as an Audiobook

Audiobook Review:
This will sound completely silly to someone who has the book in front of them. When I make a review of a book chosen at one of my favorite book review sites, I don't ever look at the book's description or read other people's reviews before I read it. I want my opinion to be unbiased and my own. Also, typically, I review so many books that it usually takes me some time to get to any one particular book. Therefore, I often remember or know nothing about a book before I start reading except for the cover and the title. That was so when I approached this audiobook. As I listened to it, for some reason, I thought it shared young children's thoughts on race—real children—not the poems of adult black and white poets. I don't know if that was what they were striving for, but that's what I thought it was! If it had been that, this book would have been an interesting view on race by those who are in the early stages of grappling with what that means. But, as it is not, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. These poems are very simple and only scratched the surface of what racial differences mean and how experiences of the races differ, even for those of a young age. I did receive this as an audiobook, and I wonder if it would have made more sense as a book instead of just something to listen to. While I applaud the efforts of the authors to make a statement and perhaps foster discussion about race in families, as an audiobook, it fell flat, and as a book meant for younger readers, it didn't quite feel like it touched on enough of the complex topics of race that it should have.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the book “ Can I Touch Your Hair?” by Irene Latham and Charles Waters. This impactful book opens the conversation about race and society. It is certainly a learning tool for adults and children alike. Once one listens and learns from this book, it entices questions about race and diversity is our society. The story of how the two authors were inspired to come together for this book paves an encouraging path to take action.

Normally this reader is bad at reading poetry. It was worse as an audiobook. Telling where one began and one ended was not easy. Plus i think listening to it as an audio book instead of reading it, left off the emotion and made it hard to tell what was actually happening.

Just perfect for elementary readers to begin discussing and understanding how growing up can be tough. Making friends, finding your identity, building relationships in your community, and identifying how racism and bias are present in the life of everyday kids. Poems are paired to show contrast, and the book is free verse so a great example to share about the variety of the poetry world!

I loved this exploration of race geared towards a younger audience. The poetic nature of the work was very accessible for everyone. It is shown through these poems to be open minded and think before you speak. It also explores themes of celebrating who you and loving yourself. I would recommend this for all age levels but especially as a way to introduce the discussion of race to children.

Lerner Audiobooks/#NetGalley

Irene Latham and Charles Waters narrate the poetry they created for this important look at navigating a school writing project through the prism of race. This slim volume of poetry covers a lot of ground, from interracial friendships, to food choices, to church services, and more. Latham's voice is light and more easily conveys the thoughts and feelings of a 5th grader, while Waters' deep timbre stretches listeners' imaginations as the voice of a 10-year-old. Still, this is a book that lends itself so well to classroom conversations on race, friendship, family, group projects, and writing, and the audiobook extends the reach of the print edition, illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko.

I requested this book of poems because of the title and the description. Especially in these days, I feel these topics are extremely important. I felt there was a need to delve deeper into each of the topics the poems touched on and I was left wanting more explanation. For example, Trayvon Martin and Ferguson, Missouri are both mentioned, but nothing is explained and there are such huge conversations that could have been had, especially for young children who were too young to remember those awful murders/tragedies, this just mentions those two names and equates it with “bad news” and that’s it, nothing more. I tried looking at it through the mind of a child, but then it really didn’t make any sense without any further explanation. There were several poems that were very stereotypical and didn’t sit right with me; I’m sure the authors were doing this for a reason, but it wasn’t a greater understanding I gained, it just seemed to further these stereotypes. Maybe it is also partly due to the fact that this is an audio book and I wasn’t able to look at the illustrations, but I wasn’t able to fully appreciate this book. I can appreciate the ideas this collection of poems is trying to make, but I think the poems needed more detail and explanation in order for it to have a positive impact on children. Note: I received an ARC of this audio book for an honest review.

I already love the print edition of this book, but I was excited to be able to listen to it, too. There's something about hearing poems read by the poets, as these are, that opens up a new window into feeling the poems. Charles and Irene did a beautiful job of sharing these poems! If I were still a teacher, it would be awesome to share one pair of poems with students each day (or each week, or whatever), followed by some open discussion. The ONLY bad thing about an audiobook of poetry is that it can lead the listener to just play straight through, without stopping to reflect. And these poems deserve some reflection. They're ripe for starting meaningful discussion!

I hate to say it, but I feel genuinely underwhelmed by Irene Latham and Charles Waters' <em>Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship</em>. The book is illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko, though the only image I really ever saw was the cover since I got this book in audio format. In that sense, I can't really speak to the artwork other than to say that the cover is cute, but not my favorite. Truthfully, I'm not sure if the audio played a role in my feeling underwhelmed. But the audio doesn't seem like the best format for this book.

<b>A conversation about race.</b>

<em>Can I Touch Your Hair?</em> seems like the sort of book that's intended to create a conversation. This is incredible since we really do need to be discussing race more often and, yes, with our children. The problem comes in with the fact that the conversation about race isn't always clear enough. When told from the perspectives of two young children just beginning to understand race themselves, that's not surprising. Many issues are raised, however, very few are discussed further. I think the closest it ever came was during the conversation of school shootings. Even then, due to it's short poem format, the book doesn't really delve deeply into much.

As a book for parents to use to begin a conversation, this book isn't that bad. As something a kid is coming across on their own, it's less impressive. I liked the introduction to poetry and I liked the introduction to conversations about race... But there are a lot of missed opportunities to really build more upon the conversation as a whole. We're foisted into the lives and experiences of these two children without ever really getting the time to digest and understand what these experiences <em>truly</em> mean. As an adult, you can recognize many of those themes and features. But I don't think children will be able to.

<b>Yay, narration</b>

I <em>love</em> spoken out loud poetry. It's one of my favorite things in the whole world. That said, I couldn't really get into it here. I'd always thought poetry as an audiobook would be <em>amazing</em>, but this book was here to prove me wrong. I got distracted so many times while listening that I had to listen three times before I managed to catch all of the moments. And so much of it never really had the impact I was hoping it would. Whether that is an issue with the poetry itself or the narration, I can't say for sure.

In the end, one truth remains clear; this book is difficult to focus on in audio format.

<b>As a final note:</b>

I'm honestly really disgusted by the fact that paddle-spanking disciplinary measures were included in the first place, let alone completely glossed over as though it's perfectly acceptable to hit your kid with a block of wood. I don't care how normalized this was in the past or if it was something Irene experienced as a child, herself. The fact is that it shouldn't have a place in a children's picture book in the year 2020. It <em>especially</em> shouldn't have a place when it is suggesting that this sort of child abuse isn't problematic.

For that single moment alone, I would <em>never</em> read this book to a child of mine. I am certain that there are many other books out there discussing race that I could use without having to subject a young mind to the suggestion that a parent hitting them in this abusive manner is okay.

So, while this book has some merits, I ultimately just found myself disappointed for a number of reasons. It's one of those things where I find myself respecting the main goal of this work, but I do feel that there are <em>many</em> books that handle it in a much better way.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

I have been meaning to read this for some time. It turned out to be from the perspective of two 5th grade classmates, one white and one black, interacting with each other as they get put together as partners on a writing project. The poems that come from them seem very realistic, asking essentially, "What makes us different?" and "Are we really that different?" "Do our differences really matter that much anyway?" The age-old story of children not seeing their differences until they get pointed out to them. I liked it a lot. I liked the readers too!

Thanks, NetGalley for this ARC audiobook recording. #CanITouchYourHair #NetGalley