Author/Illustrator: Sharee Miller Grade Levels: 3 and up
Summary:
Aria boasts about how much she loves her hair. She loves it in all sorts of different ways but, because her hair is so amazing everyone wants to touch it. Aria appreciates everyone’s love for her hair but it becomes a little too much for her when their curiosity drives them to touch it without permission. Aria has a hard time finding the power to say no and instead learns to avoid people and hide her hair. She goes as far as hiding in the sea, the jungle, the tallest castle tower and even up into space! But no matter where she went, she kept running into the same problem. The only times when no one was minding her hair was when she was all by herself, but after a while, Aria felt too loney. It wasn’t until Aria finally decided that enough is enough and used her mighty voice to tell everyone to stop touching hair!! She wanted them to know that she appreciated the love and curiosity for her hair but drew a line and said that they can look but not touch without her permission. Her hair was finally free to touch the sun like a flower! And sometimes if a person asked nicely, Aria had no problem with letting them touch her fabulous hair.
Element 5 - Raising Awareness:
This book dives into raising awareness by teaching students that even if they are complimenting something about a person, they must still ask for permission to touch or ask questions. In Aria’s case, her hair was unique and greatly admired. However, neither one of those is a good enough reason to invade her personal space by doing things like touching her hair, asking questions about how she got her hair to be so “fluffy,” or asking how she got it to be “so big.”Aria is under no obligation to answer questions about her hair because it is not her responsibility to educate others about her hair culture. It is important for kids to understand that and how actions like these make their peers feel. Aria's need to isolate herself is a perfect example of how intentions we may perceive as harmless can actually be hurtful for an individual.
Activity:
Host a show and tell activity for the kids where they will bring in something from their culture that they consider to be special. Students will show each other their respective items and the floor will be open to questions but the child who is showcasing their item will be able to decide which questions they feel comfortable answering. Also, students will have to ask the presenter for permission to do things like hold the item, getting a closer look at it, etc. The purpose of this activity is to raise awareness towards being respectful of boundaries set by peers. Respecting boundaries can come in the form of being mindful of the types of questions we ask peers, that we ask our peers if certain things are ok with them and to accept our peers’ decisions.
Buy it here!
Guided Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist Reading for Grades 3 and Up :
Don't Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller
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