Written by Matthew Cherry
Illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Hair Love is a charming story about a little girl and her father who struggle to style her gorgeous afro for a special day. Zuri wakes up early and starts getting ready. The story does not reveal what’s so special about it until the very end. However, it’s obvious that this day is unlike the rest: Zuri wants her beautiful big mane of hair to be styled in a special way. She tries to style it herself by watching online videos. It seems to be too big of a task for such a little girl. Fortunately, her father wakes up and helps (or at least tries). At first, her father proves inadequate for the task with a series of comical hairstyles that Zuri turns her nose up at. Eventually, they come across a style online that dad can pull off. Zuri is finally happy with her hair for her special day! The reveal at the end is that her mom arrives home after what seems to be an extended stay away from the house. Zuri jumps into her waiting arms and the family hugs and are all smiles!
This is a very simple, yet charming story. My favorite thing about it, aside from the illustrations – I’ll get to that in a second-is the way this father-daughter duo worked together to style this child’s hair and did not try to change the texture of it. I also love seeing children with creative styles and brightly colored bows and wrap-arounds (not sure what’s the technical name for them)! Zuri was so happy and proud of her new hairstyle, she was beaming!
Now, about those illustrations: they are gorgeous! I love books where you can tell the person illustrating them understands the nuances in Black skin tones. Look at the hopeful way Zuri looks at her dad while handing him the comb. And the disappointment in her eyes when he couldn’t style it the way she wanted. And then the pride in those same eyes when he finally got it right. Notice that each person in this book is a different shade of Black. The mom is the darkest shade and she is glowing and well moisturized. I love that for her!
This book makes a fantastic bed-time (or really any-time) story. It’s a heartwarming story about Black hair that we don’t see enough and the illustrations enhance an already beautiful story.