NAPPY HAIR

Uncle Mordecai calls out the story of Brenda's hair--the nappiest hair in the world--at the family picnic, while everyone else chimes in with affirmations: ""Yep,"" ""You said it,"" and ""Ain't it the truth."" At first they think Mordecai is making fun of Brenda's hair; when he says that combing it out sounds like crunching through deep snow with two inches of crust on top, somebody says, ""Brother, you ought to be ashamed."" But soon it's clear that his only purpose is celebration: ""One nap of her hair is the only perfect circle in nature,"" hair that is ordained by God Himself. The text, illustrations, and overall design of the book work exceptionally well together. Uncle Mordecai's narration is set in a serif typeface, with the interjected responses set in a variety of serif and sans-serif typefaces for emphasis. The exuberant gospel rhythm of the text is matched by Cepeda's bold, color-saturated paintings, particularly his renderings of little Brenda. She's clearly a child who stomps through life with a lot of spunk and energy.