Love, love, LOVE this picture book! The illustrations are so beautiful, lively, and engaging. Between that and the
lyrical, playful language, the kids would be mesmerized reading this during circle time.

This would also be a wonderful book to have on a classroom or home bookshelf--I can see a young girl pulling it down many times just to pore over the pictures and see herself in a story.

I really appreciated the extra information at the end regarding the mural as well as the glossary. As someone with minimal exposure to Puerto Rican or Black culture, I'm grateful for resources to educate myself and get answers to questions without having to impose on someone to ask.

Available September 2021

NoNieqa Ramos’s Hair Story is a celebration of Black and Latinx hair. The book is written in free verse, incorporating AAVE and vocabulary just above the intended target age, good for learning new words. The book includes names of notable Black, Afro-Latinx, and Latinx individuals who were known for their hairstyles. We need more books like this.

I will say I think the book could be organized a bit differently. The names of people in the book didn’t seem to fit well into the story. At first I thought that was the end of the book but kept turning pages to see that the book continued.

While I am not the intended audience for this book, Hair Love is a well thought out blend of the culture, diversity, beauty, and history of Puerto Rican and Black hair that follows two young girls. Through both their hair routines and their family dynamics, we are able to see how they share similarities and differences, all while loving their hair. It is a book I would love to add to our classrooms for students so that they may have representation in the literature they have access too and the ability to learn about the uniqueness of other languages, appearances, and positive self image.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

Beautiful book and I love the premise of the story. I work with very young children and some of the language may be too complicated for them which is why I wouldn’t use it in the classroom personally.

Preciosa’s hair won’t stay straight, and Rudine’s hair resists all the rules. Together, they play girl’s hair salon and discover the majesty and beauty of black and brown girls’ hair. They learn about and get inspiration for natural hair from moms, their neighbors, their ancestors, and cultural icons. Told in rhyming verse with beautiful, collage art, this book is perfect for all kids, from those who want to celebrate their own natural hair to those who don’t have the same hair and can learn about others.

This little book is so much fun! There’s all kinds of things, from natural hair, to ballet terms (‘hair ballet) and learning about historical figures, both black and Latinx folks who made their mark. I would love to share this with the little ones in my life. Natural hair should be celebrated, and the more kids see themselves in media, history, and the world, the more inspired they become.

This one is out in September, so keep an eye out for it!

What a sweet book. The cover made me instantly want to dive in. I really appreciated the way this was written in a sort of poetry style without being to rhyme focused. The illustrations were amazing. I wasn't a fan of the made up words and random numbers thrown in to words. Overall a very cute book.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! This would have gone perfect with the lesson I did on hair. I especially love the the shorten biographies. This book would make a wonderful addition to my classroom.

Such a sweet story of two little girls, best of friends, who happen to be children of color! One is Puerto Rican and one is Black and they each have a crowning glory of natually curly hair! Told in rhyming verse the story of the little friends "big hair" is told in a postive and imaginative way to help girls build confidence in their ethnicity,
beautiful, natural hair and appearance!

The girls play hair salon and take their inspiration from the women they see in their everyday live and communities, as well as some cultural icons who are included in the book.
The collage art is sprightly and high-spirited and young children will be instantly drawn to this gorgeous book art!
Children might enjoy learning some of the ryhmes! Bilinigual prose is a plus!

You may be curious as to why I used the phrase"big hair" in quotations. My daughter is Black and as a young child she spent many hours getting her hair "did"! This was not a time she enjoyed so as she got older we began to switch gears and learn how to care for her beautiful, extremely curly hair naturally without harsh relaxers and hours of braiding. At first my daughter didn't like this look and called it "big hair"! She would say, "I don't like my "big" hair! It broke my heart. But with encouragement and seeing more Black children with natural hair in her environment, her confidence grew! . I only wish there were books like this then! My daughter is 27 years old and a queen of natural hair but I could never find books that reflected her ethnicity let alone her hair!
Thank you!

This book was beautiful. Just beautiful. The words, the illustrations, all of it, from cover to cover.
I loved that this story featured two girls who the world would see as different, but it was shown they were so much alike. Their hair was beautiful, their families were loving, their neighborhoods were a part of who they were.
I loved that the end of the book had drawing of real life people for kids to look at and see themselves. There was a glossary and I especially liked that the words were not defined in the story itself, that the words were not written as 'other', but just like everything else.
Definitely buying this for my daughters when it comes out.

Absolutely gorgeous. The book tells the story of two young girls - one Puerto Rican and one Black - as they bond over their natural hair and grow to love their curls. The book includes lots of references to history and the ancestry of both of these girls, as well as the hair stories of so many amazing BIPOC artists and activists throughout time.

The illustrations are magnificent. Done in a collage style that really underscores both the youth of the girls and the layers of the world they are discovering.

A top-notch picture book for all children, and especially those who can see themselves and their communities represented in these pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the ARC.

This is a wonderful book for all the kids out there who do not have "normal" hair. And "normal" is in quotes because what does that mean?

This is for all the kids who have hair that won't behave. That takes on a life of its own. Hair that wants to be natural.

The book is full of spanglish and slang, but that's just fine, because there is a glossary at the back.

And if you have to consult the glossary, nothing wrong with that. And if you have to look up all the natural hair people listed in the back, that means you have learned something new.

This is a fun, bright book, and is for all the children out there who don't fit in with the Western white idea of what hair should look like.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>

There is so much to love about Hair Story! A wonderful picturebook with many resources to explore for young readers, or to pair with other texts for older readers. Beautiful work.

I love the cover of this book. I saw it, and BAM. I knew I had to read it. Kids love rhyming books, and so do I. The illustrations in this book are great, they alone tell a story. There are some Spanish words thrown into this book since one of the girls is Latina, which makes the book interesting. The kids at my school will love this book. The kids will be able to relate to the characters in this book.

4.66 stars rounded up

We follow Preciosa and Rudine as they play hair salon and learn how to style their hair while learning how their mane holds a special connection to their ancestors.

Keisha Morris did a marvelous job with her illustrations; they are inclusive, bright, fun, and vibrant. They complimented NoNieqa Ramos' story beautifully. Both celebrated and empowered diversity. I loved the story and how rhythmic the words were. I stuttered a little bit reading it as I don't speak Spanish, and I appreciate the words translated at the end. I will have to say that, even though I couldn't understand the terms, the meaning of each verse was obvious.

I feel the school-aged children would love this book, it can be used as an introduction to Spanish, and it's a great addition to any library that is intentional about books with representation and own voices. I feel this book will empower many little girls out there.

I loved that there were mentions of famous people with hair similar to the protagonists at the end. The author went further and signified their importance by having blurbs highlighting these figure's accomplishments.
Highly recommend this book.


Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to NoNieqa Ramos,
Lerner Publishing Group, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Hair Story.
#NoNieqaRamos #LernerPublishingGroup #HairStory #ChildrenLiterature #KeishaMorris #NetGalley

Through vibrant and beautiful illustrations and powerful language, Ramos uses Hair Story to help children embrace their hair and the heritage it relates back to. The book is absolutely beautiful and should be in every elementary classroom!

Sure to be a classic, this story is three parts tradition, heritage and educational. The illustrations are beautiful and heartwarming and the end notes are very informative. A book that should be passed down generation to generation.

Thanks so much for the chance to read through this book in exchange for honest feedback! My first thought: AWW! It's a very cute book. I loved the illustrations. I also loved the storyline. I'm glad to say this would be a great book for a classroom or library.

I LOVED this book. It was so strong and powerful. I loved how well it flowed and rhymed, and I really appreciated the bilingual element! I also loved seeing the Fro-ments in history! Great book. My girls will love reading it and seeing their hair. I hope to memorize some of the rhymes to help them stay still while I do their hair!

I enjoyed this book because I hope it will help children feel more confident with their own natural hair. The illustrations were cute and the rhyming nature of the story was interesting.

Aww, this is such a sweet story featuring two girls celebrating their hair. The rhymes are funny and diverse, and the artwork is seriously cute. The rhymes incorporate English and Spanish, too, which I really liked. Definitely a great book for young kids!