HAIRSTORY, by Sope Martins and Briana Mukodiri Uchendu, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, Jan. 6, 2026, Hardcover, $19.99 (ages 4-8)
Celebrate the richness of the African heritage behind braids, locs, cornrows, and more in Hairstory, by Sope Martins and Briana Mukodiri Uchendu.
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. 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 subverts this all in her celebration of African hair and its complicated, powerful heritage. —Synopsis provided by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Hairstory takes readers through the history of Black hair from ancient Africa to modern-day America. It’s a beautiful celebration of style and tradition woven through the years.
Author Sope Martins offers readers a mix of verse and traditional paragraphs that highlight the complex social and cultural expectations and changes shaped, and continue to shape, how Black hair is worn.
Briana Mukodiri Uchendu’s accompanying illustrations are full of movement and texture. They are stunning.
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