ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the prominence of hair care issues and conversations. Amelia's beads and braids attracted so much attention from strangers during our trip to China, that had she charged some yuan each time people stopped her and asked to take pictures with her. If African Americans want their daughters, granddaughters, and nieces to make positive decisions about their self-care and particularly about their hair—and it does have to be a deliberate and frequently repeated decision, given the social pressures to conform to the White beauty standard—then they need to introduce them to these virtual kitchens throughout their girlhood and even throughout their young adulthood. As American's children become browner but the teaching and librarian pools remain White by overwhelming majorities, the need for books like these will become greater, as will their potential for use in classrooms and libraries.
