Braided roots

In Westbrook's (Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen) lyrical picture-book debut, an Indigenous father braids his young daughter's long hair and speaks of their family history. While gently and painstakingly pulling strands taut with fingers "gnarled like the roots of a tree," Father explains how their hair connects them to their culture. Resonant images are woven throughout the girl's poetic first-person narration: "My braid is a DNA chain / linking me / back, back, back." Flowing lines and dreamlike scenes in Goodnight's (Chickasaw Nation) oil, colored pencil, and digital illustrations warmly capture the enduring presence and strength of ancestors. Walking by a river, the child's reflection in the water is of a foremother as a little girl. Touching her long, smooth, strong plaits, the child proudly states her hair is "unbreakable. / Like rope, / attaching me / to my family." An author's note shares personal experiences and a tribute to her ancestors who walked the Trail of Tears from Mississippi to Oklahoma. An empowering picture book about ties that bind.

In rhythmic text that's rooted in family history and nature, Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen descendant Westbrook begins with an everyday ritual: "Father braids my hair, just like his./ He says more strands are stronger than one/ when pulled together tight." Proceeding pages detail the duo's family story, referencing photos of ancestors wearing braids ("a DNA chain/ linking me/ back, back, back... to the ones who walked" from Mississippi to Oklahoma). Goodnight's digitally finished oil and pencil illustrations effectively juxtapose scenes of the past and the present in a work that conveys how "our hair is our history" and how the father's braid conveys "love in every twist," conferring a deep strength that "might just change the world." Creators' notes conclude. Ages 4--8. (Nov.)