Vivid, empowering, and culturally rich.
Embark on an informative tour through the history of African American dos.
In easily digestible vignettes, Qualls offers a comprehensive explanation of Black hair textures and styles as well as products and implements that straighten, expand, and chemically treat it. He includes entertaining biographical blurbs on key historical figures such as Madam C.J. Walker, the first American woman to become a self-made millionaire; her competitor and former boss, Annie Turnbo Malone; and Garrett Augustus Morgan, who devised a hair-straightening formula (and also invented the three-way traffic light and the gas mask), all of whom advanced technologies still prevalent today. As conversational as a stylist chatting with a client, this work of nonfiction has narrative flair and pizzazz. But Qualls also addresses difficult topics including the phrase good hair (the problematic idea that straight and loose hair is superior to tighter, curlier hair), which began with the enslavement of Black people. This honest book will provide much-needed education and guidance for readers who don’t have Afro-textured hair while affirming those who do. Qualls’ bold, stylized illustrations employ a somewhat limited palette, creating a retro vibe reminiscent of many of the eras featured.
Vivid, empowering, and culturally rich. (author’s note) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9780063144279
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
A good if limited starting guide.
Author Leavitt presents all the components of doing research into family history with easy-to-follow directions for a successful project.
The volume begins with clear definitions about genealogy and why it is important to study. It moves on to give practical tips on getting started and how to map a family tree. It introduces young readers to the important documents that can assist in gathering family facts and describes the information they provide. It gives solid directions for setting up interviews with family members and how to reach out to those who are far away. This is followed up with strategies for using online resources, including warnings on how to stay safe on social media. The work of tracing ancestors from their countries of origin can be daunting, but Leavitt gives some help in this area as well and explores the role geography can play in family stories. There is good advice for collecting oral histories, and the chapter on exploring “The Way They Were” will appeal to many, as will the concluding chapters on family reunions and keeping in touch. All of this is presented in an encouraging, upbeat tone. Sidebars, charts, illustrations, and photographs add to the accessibility. The major drawback is that it assumes a known biological lineage with heterosexual parentage; there is no mention of the unique issues adopted children and nontraditional families might have in trying to put some of the instructions into practice. A short section addresses the challenges that face African-American descendants of enslaved people.
A good if limited starting guide. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2320-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
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