The top of a girl's head and her thick, beautiful 'fro take up the first two pages of Sharee Miller's Don't Touch My Hair! Using watercolors, colored pencils and ink, Miller (Princess Hair) creates the soft, brown curves of the little girl's face and the sharp, black squiggles of her curls: "I'm Aria, and this is my hair." Aria joyously shows the reader the versatility of her hair--"I love it up or down. Styled or wild, I don't care!"--and expresses her desire to let it "just... be free." But that small goal is nearly impossible because people always want to express their admiration for her hair by touching it.
What follows is an adventure in avoidance. Aria somersaults through a border of reaching, multi-toned hands, swims through oceans, journeys through jungles and even meets aliens in outer space before finally finding a deserted island where she can escape curious hands. Unfortunately, deserted islands are "lonely," and she decides to go back home--where there's nowhere to run or hide. When she's finally had "enough," Aria firmly tells a crowd of onlookers, "DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR!" She explains, "This is MY hair. It's great that you love it.... But please, just look and don't touch without my permission."
An author's note gives more background to Miller's story: "Many people... feel uncomfortable or disrespected when others touch their hair without permission. Though Aria struggles specifically with people touching her hair... this is also a story about personal boundaries." Don't Touch My Hair! is a bold, straightforward reminder of the importance in affirming children have the right to say no. --Breanna J. McDaniel, author, freelance reviewer