Hairstory
Hardcover – Picture Book, January 6, 2026
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books · Hardcover · January 6, 2026
Two starred reviews!
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- Who it’s for
- A richly voiced celebration traces the history and meaning woven through African hair.
- Themes
- African hair heritage, Hair, identity, and community, Prejudice over hairstyles
- Genres
- Clothing & Dress-Up, US: African American Stories, Diversity & Multicultural
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Two starred reviews! Joy hums from this “glorious…beautifully styled” (Booklist, starred review) picture book celebration of the richness of the African heritage behind braids, locs, cornrows, and all manner of crowning glory, from ancient times to present day—perfect for fans of Sulwe and We Are the Ship. With the lushest of language, a young girl getting her hair styled tells an overall history of African hair. Beads. Feathers. Cowries. Threads of gold. Ivory. Charcoal.
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Pearls. Bantu knots. Cornrows. Goddess Braids. Maps. Seeds. Afros. Clay. Dreadlocks. Woven with the greatest care. Across different African cultures. Everything rich with meaning. - Centuries of meaning! Hair! It’s woven with history. - It is living art—can be adorned with intricate rings, mother of pearl, feathers. - It is identity. - It shapes community. - It can speak to age, wealth, or power. - It provided escape maps for the enslaved to follow when written word was forbidden. Woven with seeds, pearls, gold, it provided a way to survive after escape. - And to many, it contains the soul. For centuries, people of African descent have faced prejudice and judgment over their hair. Backlash for their styles. Dictated to as to what styles are “acceptable”. But author Sope Martins boldly, exquisitely, subverts this all in her celebration of African hair and its complicated, powerful heritage.
Hair Holds History
A richly voiced celebration traces the history and meaning woven through African hair.
Come here for
- Braids, locs, cornrows, adornment, and identity in one vivid subject.
- Hair as living art, history, community, and self-expression.
Expect
- A young girl’s styling visit opens onto centuries of cultural meaning.
- Lush language for a subject too often judged by others.
Where it sits
| Diversity & Multicultural | 67% |
|---|---|
| Clothing & Dress-Up | 52% |
| US: African American Stories | 48% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Historical Africa
- Clothing & Dress-Up
- Diversity & Multicultural
- Authors
- Sope Martins
- Publisher
- Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
- Published
- January 6, 2026
- Format
- Hardcover
- Theme
- African hair heritage · Hair, identity, and community · Prejudice over hairstyles
- Reading lane
- Historical Africa