[.ca] Happy to Be Nappy (ISBN 0786807563)

From Amazon.com:
Renowned feminist and social critic bell hooks takes on... hair! "Hair for hands to touch and play! Hair to take the gloom away." This rhythmic read-aloud is, on the surface, all about hair: nappy, plaited, long, short, natural, twisted, "soft like cotton, flower petal billowy soft, full of frizz and fuzz." Comb through the surface and find a celebration of childhood and girls and the freedom to express individuality. The rituals implied in the book are rooted in the traditions of hooks's own childhood, when "doing" hair was just as much an excuse for girls to laugh and tell stories and just be together. Going still deeper is the much-needed message encouraging girls to love and accept themselves (and others) just the way they are. In bell hooks's first venture into children's books, she wisely teams up with Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Chris Raschka (Yo! Yes?, Mysterious Thelonious). Raschka's bold paint strokes on a color wash background are strikingly original--a perfect match for the exuberant text. This beautiful picture book will surely make any reader, young or old, happy to be nappy--and anyone who raved or ranted over Carolivia Herron and illustrator Joe Cepeda's Nappy Hair will welcome this joyful, celebratory book. (Click to see a sample spread. Text copyright 1999 by bell hooks. Illustrations copyright 1999 by Chris Raschka. With permission of Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.) (Ages 3 and older) --Emilie Coulter

spunky words and illustrations revel in blackness:
this book is a must have the illustrations are **absolutly beautiful**. they accentuate the happy playfulness of the book and are so well done that they can appeal to adults and children alike. the book is a nice break from the usual children's book roles of african-american characters. here blackness is not defined by its relationships to other races, but just by its beauty. it is simply a really fun book to read aloud to kids.

I Love This Book! Its So Cute! :-):
I think this is a very cute book. The water colors (no what that other chick said) are nice. Thats one of the things that make this book special and unique. I happen to have met "Bell Hooks" before and she is a very nice very brilliant lady (if your reading this Miss. hooks, i was in the school library with DJ) I love her style of writing and the book itself serves as an important reminder to all girls black and white. They should always learn to love themselves as they are no matter what any other people say. this book is great for all girls young and old. Im 14 and i love it! My opinion is buy it. It'll bring a smile to your face. A lot of her other books are good too.

Happy To Be Nappy:
The first time I saw this book I knew I wanted to add this to my collection right away.I thought this book was very charming and heart warming. The watercolor paintings are so nice and warm.(they just make you feel real good) My children loved this book and it will always be one of personal favorites.

Great Bedtime Read!:
My daughter (18 mos. old) loves this story! We read it every night before she goes to sleep, at her request. I often use the text to play with her hair as we read, which she also seems to enjoy enough that now all I have to do is recite the book from memory to get her to sit still long enough to put in pig tails. I really like that each of the illustrations has a different skin tone- it's an important detail that could have been easily overlooked by a less inspired artist.

Fabulous pictures; get the oversized board book!:
My one-year-old son LOVES this book. He hasn't grown into the words quite yet, but he's fascinated by the pictures. The board book is especially good. It's much bigger than many board books, and my son can pull it out and turn back and forth among the pages on his own. He'll open it to a page and just stare at it for a few minutes, touching the pictures, then pull it open to another random page. I think it's important for white kids to have books that don't just show them more white kids... and this one has glorious pictures. Lots of bold iamges on spacsious pages, visually very interesting for a baby. I can't wait until he's old enough to sit still for having it read to him, but for now he's so excited that he can do it on his own with this book, he's too impatient to let me turn the pages. Highly recommended.