Nappy: A Children’s Book for the Ages

Nappy
Charisse Carney-Nunes
Illustrated by Ann Marie Williams
Poetry & Non-fiction
Ages 4-8
Brand Nu Words, April 2006,
978-0-9748142-1-6

As black mothers we know all too well the internal messages our hair evokes within us. In fact, it is we who fully know and understand what our hair means to us, even if we haven’t honestly discovered or sometimes forget the richness and reality of our nappy tresses.

Charisse Carney-Nunes, a DC mother, attorney, poet and author of Songs of a Sistermom, wraps up this intimate emotion in a beautifully written and illustrated children’s book, Nappy. Intended for young girls, Nappy is a folksy, southern-style poem about not only the splendor of nappy hair, but also a moral lesson about what having nappy hair ultimately means – embodying strength, possessing natural determination and being in a select line of strong, black women who have all had nappy hair.

One walks away from this book remembering that having nappy hair means a young girl must endure brief moments of discomfort to get to the authentic root and beauty of her hair. Moms pull, tug and yank their daughters’ hair into a beautiful mound of glory because, according to Nunes, ‘girl, God didn’t give us nothing we couldn’t handle.’

Wonderfully illustrated by Anne Marie Williams, Nappy tenderly captures sweet hair moments between mom, daughter and the ubiquitous dreaded comb. Nappy is sure to please any young girl who has spent countless hours in loving company with her mom while she gets her hair pulled to perfection like so many before her.

Combining education and poetry, Nappy teaches girls about black historical heroines such as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Ella Baker. Rich historical sketches of black women who have made a difference in America are compiled at the end, eloquently weaving together hair and history.

For more information and to purchase Nappy for your children visit Brand Nu Words publishers at www.brandnuwords.com or purchase below.