Daddy Does the 'Do! Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry

My name is Zuri, and I have hair that has a mind of its own.

Zuri's hair does its own thing. It plays tricks on her. It can be large and lush, and then when a little rain falls, it goes from inflated to flat! She likes it when it's in beaded braids--all princessy. She feels proud when Daddy says it's beautiful.

But some days she wants it to be spectacular.

Today is a day when she wants an extra special hairstyle. She gets her laptop to research the best style ever!

But her cat Rocky gives her arm a nudge and she drops her laptop!

CRASH!

Daddy wakes up from a nap and comes to see what is going on. He tries to help.

"Piece of cake!" he says.

Daddy tries, but his efforts don't exactly meet with praise!

"No Way!

REALLY??

NO, Daddy!

OUCH!"

Daddy offers her the option of a knit cap pulled down to her eyebrows. NOPE! But at last Daddy has an inspiration, and for Zuri, her hair is just right for this special day, just in time for Mommy, who's back from her trip!

"Where's my ZuZu?" Mommy calls.

She finds Zuri's hair perfect, but Daddy is modest and even gallant about his styling skills.

"Thanks to you! We learned from the best!"

After all, she is her parents' daughter, in Matthew A. Cherry's hair saga, Hair Love (Random House, 2019). Thanks to the soft and sweet illustrations by artist Vashti Harrison, Cherry's latest has humor (a broken hair elastic pops Dad in the eye) and pathos not unknown to parents who struggle with the hair their offspring inherited from THEM! A nice slice of family life no matter what sort of hair you wear! "A bighearted ode to individuality and father-daughter collaboration," says Publishers Weekly.