Happy to Be Nappy

I love bell hooks as a theorist and feminist writer. I was excited to see this book at the library, as well as a couple of other children's books by her. I think this book is so relevant, regardless of race or gender or class. The message is simple, yet so ignored in this society, and that is that we should be proud of who we are, whether it be our personalities, culture, or natural-born appearances. The characters are proud of their hair and talk about the different things they can do with their hair. It's a great children's version of Chris Rock's "Good Hair" (or "Good Hair" is a great adult version of this book). I love this and would use it in ANY classroom, whether it be elementary, middle, or high school, and would love to teach show more it to people of all races in an attempt to increase knowledge of cultural, racial, and physical pride. show less

This book is the about the love and joy that comes from having nappy hair.

This book is about taking pride in your hair. Often black boys and girls are shamed about the different texture, nappiness, of their hair. My grandmother bought me this book when I was three and it was and still is one of my favorite books. As someone who often use to wish that I had straight hair like my white classmates (but when my mom allowed me at 6 to get it hot combed, I hated it), I think it is important especially when you are young to have books that reflect you and your experience.

Happy to Be Nappy is a great book. It sheds the light on African American textured hair. I truly appreciate books like these and think it is important for little girls of color to read books like this. In today's society I do not see little girls appreciate their hair because of how society depicts it. This book is a great way to encourage girls to love and embrace their hair. I loved how the illustrated used cursive writing to relate it to the curl pattern of African American hair. Although I think this is a great book the author could have used a different word other than "nappy' to describe hair simply because that is the word children use to insult coarse hair.

This book is a great way to spread the appreciation for African Americans to not only appreciate themselves more, but for everyone else to get a different perspective on African American and the beauty that their hair holds. In the book it states, " a halo - a crown," which is saying that African American hair can be big but its because you are a queen or king and beautiful. I also thought this book was interesting because all of the words are written in cursive which could help a learning student with cursive to see it and understand it more. The pictures were also substantial work because the illustrator portrayed many different skin colors of African Americans along with different hairstyles to show the readers just how many there show more can be. The overall message/idea of the book was that African Americans (and fellow peers) need to embrace and love themselves for their hair and their special features. show less

Growing up in an all white household and being biracial was sometimes difficult. I wish I would have been introduced to books like these when I was sitting in my room crying over how puffy and frizzy my hair was. They had multiple characters in this book but they all shared a similarity, nappy hair. The story simply encourages girls who have this specific hair type, to love and embrace it. Some children don't understand why there hair sit down flat and the next kid's hair is curly and stands tall or vice versa. I think this book is good to show young girls and boys with the hair type but to also inform other children of this hair type.

This is a story about young African American girls and their hair. The story is all about giving the phrase “nappy hair” a good meaning behind it. Some girls do not believe that their hair is beautiful because of the color and texture of it, and the author wants to tell them that their hair is great, just the way it is. The illustrations in this story are simple and look like someone either painted them, or used watercolor. These types of illustrations are neat because it is not in every story that a child sees a hand-drawn story, that being said, the author also wrote the story in cursive on the paper itself. The handwriting may be tough to read but it is a special touch to the book. Something to be taken away from this book is the show more sense of beauty that comes with hair. It is a book that can relate to all women of color, and can give them the confidence in themselves to know that they are beautiful and they shouldn’t base their beauty off today’s society. show less

Happy to be Nappy is a book about acceptance and tolerance presented in a way wholly appropriate for young children. This is a cultural book but should be on the shelf of every child.

I thought this book was brilliant. The subject and even the title raise eyebrows when first mentioned and that creates dialog among the readers. The conclusion is easy to relate to children and the message is clear.

An extension for this book could be to have children make a diversity chart that puts all the things that make them different on a big board. Children would understand that different is not better when they see them on the board. This would be most effective in a diverse setting.

A grand conversation would be appropriate regarding this book. show more Children should express what they were feeling while reading or having the book read to them. show less