Natalie's Hair Was Wild!

October 30, 2017
Natalie is an African-American girl whose natural hair “couldn’t be tamed by a comb or a pick or restrained by barrettes or a clip.” She loves its wildness, but so do a zoo’s worth of animals, who gradually take up residence in her tresses (“An ostrich thought it was the perfect place to hide his face”). As Natalie’s hair grows wilder, “Natalie didn’t care” is the book’s refrain. But eventually she acknowledges (“for at least a week”) that with great hair comes at least a little responsibility. In her first outing as author, illustrator Freeman (Fancy Party Gowns) captures her heroine’s winning self-possession with concision and calm. Natalie never expresses panic or regret, and when she finally tells the animals to vamoose, it’s because they’re the ones at fault: “They won’t let me sleep, and they’re just plain rude.” The digital illustrations have a collaged feel that adds to the sense of fanciful fun, but the most impressive element of all is Natalie’s prodigious hair, a soft, cloudlike coif. Ages 4– 7. Agent: Bernadette Szost, Portfolio Solutions.

December 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-Shedding all forms of restraint, Natalie's hair seems to have a mind of its own. "One day some birds moved in. Natalie's hair made a fine nest. She didn't care." More outrageous animals move in, from fox to wildebeest, and Natalie's hair grows larger than life, encompassing a city block. However, Natalie can't sleep at night because of the noise, and she needs professionals from the zoo and the fire department to coax the animals out, and wash and trim her hair using a fire hose and rakes. Although the text is asserts that Natalie doesn't care, her expression shows more ambivalence toward the animals, hidden but for the occasional ear, foot, or tail. With no parents or caregivers in sight, the child makes decisions for herself; the only adults in the story are the zookeepers and firefighters, who tell her that her head is no place for a zoo as they clean her up. The highly textured digital art uses bold colors to balance the increasingly large mass of Natalie's black curly hair, keeping the tone of the illustrations playful and fun. Natalie cheerily waves goodbye to the firefighters, zookeepers and animals, her hair braided into cornrows. "She faithfully brushed it/and combed it/and washed it./She kept it neat.../...for at least a week." VERDICT Although the final spread shows her floating along, happy as can be, with her natural hair flying free, the basic premise of a black girl's hair infested with animals, combined with the history of discrimination against black hair creates too many problems for this title to rise above. Not recommended-Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2017
A young girl's hair becomes home to animals.Why is Natalie's hair considered to be "wild" simply as it grows out of her head? Readers aren't told. Instead, "wild" is used literally, as a variety of increasingly large animals come to live in the black child's cloud of kinky hair, which "couldn't be tamed by a comb or a pick / or restrained by barrettes or a clip." But the text assures readers that Natalie doesn't care (though her expressions suggest otherwise)...until the animals' noise keeps her from sleeping. She then employs the help of a firefighter and a zookeeper, who coax the animals out, after which Natalie's now-extra-large hair is washed, trimmed, and detangled with a garden hose and yard tools. Her hair suddenly inexplicably cornrowed, Natalie waves goodbye and keeps her hair "neat... / ...for at least a week," the final spread showcasing a frolicking Natalie with her unbound natural hair. The application of the word "wild" to a black girl's hair may give many adult readers pause, and the plot holes may confuse young ones (are the zookeeper and firefighter stand-ins for Natalie's parents? Is this all a metaphor for getting your hair done?). Perhaps one day we can reclaim the word "wild" as a descriptor for black hair, but this book doesn't do the trick. As it is, it could facilitate discussion on the politics of black hair. (Picture book. 4-8)

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December 1, 2017
Preschool-G Everyone can relate to the fuss of a child having their hair brushed. But what might happen if you stopped caring for your hair? Would a flock of birds make a nest? Would a tiger burrow into your locks? This is exactly what happens when carefree Natalie quits brushing her hair and let's it go, well, wild. When the animals taking up residence in her hair become too unruly for Natalie to sleep, she calls for the fire department and zoo. They dutifully come to the rescue with some creative solutions to getting the pests out of Natalie's hair (literally). At first, Freeman's depiction of Natalie's hair is of realistic proportion. But then it grows into an enormous, springy, black thicket that takes over more and more of the page, with only bits of the animals poking out. Freeman milks both humor and angst from the hairy situation, while not skimping on cute animals, either. An ideal storytime book that ought to snag the attention of listeners and readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)