I always love seeing Black people with braids. I once had some braids put in my hair at a diversity camp. It takes a long time to do them. I cringe when I hear about people not being able to wear their hair in traditional or cultural ways. It saddens me that anyone thinks they should have the power to tell someone how to wear their hair. I understand if you join a group like the military--you know what to expect, but in everyday life like school, kids should get to choose. Today I am going to share a book that spreads new light on the tradition of braids. The book is Oshún and Me: A Story of Love and Braids by Adiba Nelson and illustrated by Alleanna Harris. It is recommended for ages 3 to 6.
From the Publisher:
Tenderly illustrated by Alleanna Harris, Adiba Nelson's debut picture book Oshún and Me is a heartwarming ode to family, identity, and the beauty of braided hair. Also available in Spanish!It’s Sunday, and that means it’s Hair Day! As Mami weaves gold and cowrie shells into Yadira’s hair, she tells her the story of the goddess Oshún, showing Yadi how her Afro Latin heritage is lovingly tucked into each braid and shell.
The next day, Yadi arrives for her first day at a new school. She's nervous about making friends, but with her beautiful braids, the click-clack of the cowrie shells, and a little guidance from Oshún, she finds she has everything she needs to be her best, most authentic self.
A letter from the author and visual examples of different kinds of braided hairstyles are included in the back of the book.
From Me:
This book is beautiful and full of pride and love. I love how the young girl is excited to get her hair braided and how she is in a wheelchair. The book shares about getting her hair braided as well as about the legend of Oshún. I love how the story shares the culture of Afro Latin people. Adiba pulls from her own life experiences to share this story and realizes the importance of it for young Afro Latin children to see themselves and their culture in books. I also love how the book shares some of the different types of braids at the end.
I shared this book with a student who is taking courses to be certified to braid hair. She is Black but is adopted by white parents. I knew she would love the culture and the story of Oshún. She got so excited when I showed it to her and she read about the braids. She related to many parts of the story from the process of the braids and how it can hurt and the gold clips as well as the blue gel. She also loves the click-clack of the cowrie shells. She however did not know anything about Oshún and has never had the cowrie shell on her forehead. It was fun to watch her enjoy the book and story. She actually read it aloud to some of the other high school students in my room. They were white boys, so it was not as much a hit with them, but they are her friends and listened to her and watched her get excited for it. I promised my copy of the book to this student, so she is very excited to get it!
I love how Yadira describes the variations of skin color of the kids she meets at school. In the author's note, Adiba makes it clear that using food like Yadira did is for their own culture and not for other cultures to use. I love the beautiful illustrations as well as the beautiful story. I love that Oshún is in the playground protecting the kids and bringing them together to be friends or at least that is how Yadira sees it.
This book is perfect for Afro Latin families to share their culture with young children. It is also a great way for teachers and librarians to share cultures with children. It is important for kids to learn how to discuss race and various cultural things respectfully at a young age and to learn to celebrate our differences. It was interesting this year when one of my middle school students was talking to the Black student I mentioned about race but was not sure how to refer to her skin color. She didn't want to sound racist, so she didn't want to say her skin was different from hers. We realized that the middle school student never had the opportunity to discuss race and that she was very uncomfortable doing it. This is one of the many reasons why books that represent other races, cultures and more are so important. We need to teach our children to be respectful and not afraid to discuss diversity. This book helps start that young. I hope you will check it out! I love it!
