About the Holiday
In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly instituted Global Day of Parents to honor and support parents and their importance to the health, welfare, education, and nurturing of their children. This past year, especially, has seen parents stepping up to help their children with school work, protect them from illness, soothe their fears, and help them adjust to necessary changes. Today’s holiday provides an opportunity to appreciate all parents for their “selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship.” To learn more about the holiday, visit the United Nations website.
Hair Twins
Written by Raakhee Mirchandani | Illustrated by Holly Hatam
A Sikh father and his young daughter have a favorite routine every morning. Before school and work, Papa combs out his daughter’s long hair and brushes it “like he does his own, splitting it down the middle, like a river separating two enchanted forests.” Papa then smooths the tangles with coconut oil. Next, he styles it, sometimes making two braids that remind her of the braid her dadi, her grandmother, “wears to parties.”
Image copyright Holly Hatam, 2021, text copyright Raakhee Mirchandani, 2021. Courtesy of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
As her father combs out his own long hair, his daughter helps out by handing him a rubber band and a brush for his beard. Sometimes the little girl wears her hair in a bun at the top of her head, just “like the joora” her father wears every day.” She calls this their “twin look.” Back at home after school, the girl shakes out her hair as they dance together, and before they go to the park to meet friends, her father covers his bun with his patka and ties his turban around his head.
Image copyright Holly Hatam, 2021, text copyright Raakhee Mirchandani, 2021. Courtesy of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Today, Papa styles the girl’s hair into one long braid. She imagines it’s a “unicorn tail” and she’s ready to run like unicorns with her friends and “the grown-ups who love them” when they get to the park. Each week the group pretends to be something new but no matter if they wear “braids [or] buns, Mohawks [or] mullets, spiked [or] shaved,” they all play together. As they run, the girl smells coconut and, without looking, knows her father is behind her and feels comfort in her “hair twin.”
An Author’s Note reveals the personal origins of the story.
Image copyright Holly Hatam, 2021, text copyright Raakhee Mirchandani, 2021. Courtesy of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Raakhee Mirchandani’s lyrical story celebrates family, love, and joy in shared and passed-down traditions. The little girl’s strong bond with her father is sweetly revealed as he styles her hair in braids or a bun and then winds his own long hair into a joora, covers it with a patka, and then wraps his turban for the day’s activities. The girl’s straightforward explanations about her and her father’s hair leads into the fun they have together, and story’s first-person point of view creates a personal bond with readers as well as her enthusiasm shines through on every page.
Holly Hatam’s bright and cheerful illustrations are expressive and creative, beautifully playing on Mirchandani’s metaphors. The father and daughter relationship is the highlight of the book, and Hatam let’s readers in on their moments of laughing, dancing, and playing together. Hatam’s neighborhood and park scenes embrace diversity while also extending the idea of family connections through parent-and-child pairs who, like the girl and her father wear similar hairstyles.
A unique and poignant story about Sikh families and traditions, Hair Twins enchants as a universal story full of the love of family relationships and traditions for all children. The book is a highly recommended addition to school and public library collections.
Ages 4 – 8
Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021 | ISBN 978-0316495301
Discover more about Raakhee Mirchandani and her books on her website.
To learn more about Holly Hatam, her books, and her art, visit her website.
Global Day of Parents Activity
Hair Twins Activity Kit
You can download a coloring page, a Storytime Kit with puzzles and games, and a collection of Father’s Day cards from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers here.
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