Review: The Hair Book by LaTonya Yvette & Amanda Jane

Item: The Hair Book
Author: Richetta

Posted April 27, 2022 by Richetta in Blog Tours, Children's Books / 0 Comments

Review: The Hair Book by LaTonya Yvette & Amanda Jane

The Hair Book by LaTonya Yvette
on March 8, 2022
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Diversity & Multicultural, Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
Pages: 22

A bold, graphic board book celebrating all types of hair.
With striking, colorful graphics and simple alliterative text, this board book features poufy hair, wavy hair, Afro hair, hair covered in a hijab, and more. A surprise mirror at the end encourages young children to reflect on their own characteristics. The message is clear: no matter what you look like, you are beautiful, valued, and welcome everywhere.

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE HAIR BOOK by LaTonya Yvette & Amanda Jane Jones Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Make sure to enter the giveaway!

Review:

The Hair Book is a cute, artistic children’s book about the different types and styles of hair. Kids and adults will have fun reading this book together. It uses bold, bright colors and it will definitely open up a discussion about the different types of hair children have observed during their young lives.

Cultural Knowledge

You might even learn about a hairstyle that you were not familiar with before. For me, that was kippah hair. I am very familiar with the term yarmulke, which is a synonym for kippah, and is a traditional Jewish hair covering. On that note, I loved that different types of hair covering were included in the book!

This book fosters curiosity and the use of observational skills. Kids will recognize some hairstyles, while other may be new to them. Some they may have seen but did not have the vocabulary for them yet. From an adult perspective, this book gives the current generation a chance to see the joy in people’s similarities and differences. It’s an opportunity to allow children to learn while leaving fear and stereotypes out of the equation. Where once books commonly only referenced short or long hair, now we have a book that gives a visual for multiple types of covered hairstyles – both secular and religious; as well as to hairstyles that have cultural significance.

For those educators of older children and teens, I would consider using this book to foster discussion on inclusivity. I would also discuss with them their feelings on the hairstyles they were familiar with versus those they were not as familiar with or had never seen personally before.

Arts Integration

The artistic style use for the illustrations can be recreated with construction paper or paint. I would definitely have fun recreating a hairstyle with my preschooler. We would start with us recreating our own hair and then choosing to recreate a hairstyle we’ve seen while out in the community. I think kids would find it a fun follow-up activity too.

About The Book:

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, TBD, Bookshop.org

About the Author & Illustrator

About LaTonya Yvette:

LaTonya Yvette is a Brooklyn, NY-born and -based writer, creative director, and founder of LY, an eponymous lifestyle site focused on style, motherhood, culture, and wellbeing. LaTonya’s first book Woman of Color was published in 2019 (Abrams), and her next body of work is a collection of essays to be published by Dial Press. Learn more at: latonyayvette.com and on Instagram @latonyayvette.

About Amanda Jane Jones:

Amanda Jane Jones is an award-winning graphic designer and illustrator, and a mother of three. She is the author of Yum Yummy Yuck, the founding designer and cocreator of Kinfolk magazine, and the founder of Define Magazine. Learn more at: amandajanejones.com and on Instagram @amandajanejones.

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE HAIR BOOK, US Only.

Rafflecopter Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21447/?

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/25/2022	@just_another_mother_with_books	Review
4/26/2022	BookHounds YA	Review/IG Post
4/27/2022	Cocoa With Books	Review/IG Post
4/28/2022	onemoreexclamation	Review/IG Post
4/29/2022	The Clever Reader	Review/IG Post

Week Two:

5/2/2022	Bea’s Book Nook	Review
5/3/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
5/4/2022	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review/IG Post
5/5/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
5/6/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review