Yesenia Moises shares STELLA’s STELLAR HAIR, her debut picture book as both author and illustrator. There has been a surge of wonderful picture books featuring Black girls and boys and centering on hair thanks, in part, to the natural hair movement. Yesenia takes the topic interplanetary with, in her words, “big hair and bright colors”. The story is inspired by Yesenia’s own hair journey and centers on Stella, a young girl preparing for the Big Star Little Gala who visits her aunts on each of the different planets in order to try out their suggestions for how she should style her hair. This book is absolutely a delight for the eyes and one that had me smiling page after page. I know your readers are going to love it up a whole lot as well!
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ON TODAY'S EPISODE (#651):
Black girl magic takes the solar system in Stella's Stellar Hair, a celebration of hair, family, and self-love from debut author-illustrator Yesenia Moises!
It’s the day of the Big Star Little Gala, and Stella's hair just isn't acting right! What’s a girl to do?
Simple! Just hop on her hoverboard, visit each of her fabulous aunties across the solar system, and find the perfect hairdo along the way.
Stella’s Stellar Hair celebrates the joy of self-empowerment, shows off our solar system, and beautifully illustrates a variety of hairstyles from the African diaspora. Backmatter provides more information about each style and each planet.
A young biracial girl looks around her world for her color. She finally chooses her own, and creates a new word for herself—honeysmoke.
Simone wants a color.
She asks Mama, “Am I black or white?”
“Boo,” Mama says, just like mamas do, “a color is just a word.”
She asks Daddy, “Am I black or white?”
“Well,” Daddy says, just like daddies do, “you’re a little bit of both.”
For multiracial children, and all children everywhere, this picture book offers a universal message that empowers young people to create their own self-identity.
Simone knows her color—she is honeysmoke.
SHOW NOTES:
Yesenia Moises (website)
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