It's All About Love

5/10/2019

Hair Love
by Matthew A. Cherry ill by Vashti Harrison

"Don't worry," he said, "we'll figure this out."

Zuri is preparing for a special day and wants to have the perfect hairstyle. Daddy is napping. She reasons that he deserves a rest and decides that she can handle styling detail. The task becomes more challenging than she envisioned.

I have hair that has a mind of its own.

Sequestered on a bathroom stool, she searches her tablet for hairstyle inspiration. When the tablet clatters to the tile floor, dad wakes up and comes to investigate.

He lovingly offers to help Zuri. "It'll be a piece of cake." Soon it is evident that this project is more difficult than he thought. Readers have the mirror’s perspective, viewing the reflected image of Daddy's repeated attempts at a variety of creative styles.

Zuri eventually realizes that this needs to be a team effort. With coaching from his daughter, Daddy gets to work, fashioning the perfect look for his girl. Mom approves the result.

"You've got to be the prettiest supergirl I have ever seen"

Harrison's illustrations feature faces with over-sized expressive round eyes. They become "window to the souls" of this father/daughter relationship. She adds distinctive touches: dad concentrating on a braid with a mouthful of hair ties, Zuri's gap-tooth smile.

Rocky the cat has an important cameo role. This feline, peering over Zuri's shoulder, causes the tablet to tumble onto the tile, setting a critical story element in motion. But it doesn't stop there. His expressions are priceless. They run the gambit from dreaming of an opened can of tuna and checking out sleeping dad to studying an array of possible coiffures. His reactions to dad's styling attempts steal the show.

Hair is only a small part of the story. It's the bond between a girl and her father that make this story sparkle.

Hello Matthew

While this is his first picture book, Cherry is a well-known personality. He transitioned from career as an NFL wide receiver to director of music videos and filmmaker.
Hair Love is based on Cherry's direction of an animated short film.