By Katja Spitzer
Hardcover $16.95, ISBN 978-3-7913-7528-1; Ages 5-7, 40 pages)
This delightfully informative and reaffirming celebration of hair through the ages not only explores the most outrageous hairstyles from across history, but also shows how hair is an important and powerful means of cultural expression no matter what your sex, age, or race.
During the Rococo period, wealthy women tucked shells, necklaces, fruit, and flowers into their hair, which was styled into towers that reached as high as three feet over their heads. In 1970s London, young, disfranchised “punks” made themselves feel powerful by drawing on the 2,000-year-old Native American practice of shaving their heads except for a narrow strip from forehead to neck. These are just a couple of many fascinating moments of hair history whimsically illustrated in this book. Katja Spitzer’s colorful illustrations are presented in double-page spreads that offer an engaging description of a hair trend or style and its cultural and historic significance. Readers will learn why hair braiders in West Africa can spend an entire day working on one client; and how Black Americans signaled their opposition to racist laws and practices by not styling their naturally frizzy hair. Filled with important history and giggle-inducing facts, this wide-ranging book crosses cultures and oceans to offer an important lesson about self-expression that will encourage readers of all ages to let down their hair, and to let others do the same.
