British blogger and author Tola Okogwu is launching her third book in her ‘Daddy Do My Hair?’ series ‘Kechi’s Hair Goes Every Which Way’ this May. The new book aims to tackle the relationship between young black girls and their natural afro hair in a vibrant, entertaining and educational way.
“For me, it starts with teaching the next generation that they are beautiful just the way they are. By showing them positive representations of people who look just like them in the media, in the books they read and toys they play with. We live in a world where black people are often only shown in a negative light, and that includes our natural hair and skin colour. For black people, hair is so much more than just what grows out of our heads. Along with our skin colour, it’s the biggest signifier of the differences between us and other races and for the longest time we’ve been made to feel that there is something wrong and unattractive about it.” – Tola Okogwu
The ‘Daddy Do My Hair?’ series was inspired by the relationship between Tola’s husband and daughter and is designed to challenge some of the perceptions and preconceptions around race, gender roles within parenting, bullying, friendships, and relationships. These books have been an excellent way of encouraging diversity and inclusion from an early age – having children from all ethnicities enjoy the book makes an important impact on how children can identify with each other.
