- Taelor J.
- Tuesday, September 21, 2021
iRead features the best ebooks, eaudiobooks and print books for children and teens curated by library staff.
At home—and in our work—we strive to ask each other questions as a way to try to understand each other’s points of view. It is a constant process of discovery and learning—one that began eighteen years ago when we first met and continues today through the process of working on art for picture books. - Selina & Sean (Illustrators)
Many of us have been put in situations where we have had to work with someone that we weren't quite sure of. Maybe they dressed differently, maybe the food they ate seemed strange, they could have lived in a different neighborhood or on the other side of town and maybe they were even a different race. Did you learn to accept that person as they were? Did you become friends?
In the book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship, written by Irene Latham and Charles Waters and illustrated by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls, we take a journey on the road to friendship and, through poems, explore race and childhood struggles. Irene and Charles are the only two left without partners for the 5th grade poem project, forcing them to have to work together. But Charles is black, and Irene is white.
Through each pair of poems we get a glimpse into the lives of Charles and Irene. It may seem like they have nothing in common, but their lives are in fact very similar.
Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship is the fourth published collaboration between husband and wife illustrator duo, Sean Qualls and Selina Alko. The manuscript immediately resonated with the pair after reading it. Charles, an African American boy and Irene, a Caucasian girl mirrored their own relationship; Sean, a Black man from New Jersey and Selina, a Jewish Canadian woman. Much like Charles and Irene's partnership for their 5th grade project Sean and Irene have used their artistic talents of using mixing acrylic paint, colored pencils and collage to help convey many stories about race and identity through illustration.
Want to see more books Selina Alko and Sean Qualls have collaborated on? Check out the titles below!
Can I Touch Your Hair?
Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship
Format: Book
Description: 39 pages : color illustrations ; 27 cm
Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is black, present paired poems about topics including family dinners, sports, recess, and much more. This relatable collection explores different experiences of race in America.
The Case for Loving
The Fight for Interracial Marriage
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: 36 un-numbered pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 26 cm
The story of interracial couple Mildred and Richard Perry, who got married in Washington, D.C., and were arrested after they returned to Virginia, and took their legal case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why Am I Me?
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: 1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 27 cm
In a poetic, philosophical exchange, two children of different races ask themselves why they are who and what they are, and speculate on how they could be different.
Two Friends
Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: 1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 27 cm
This story imagines what it was like when Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass got together for a cup of tea and discussed their struggle for civil rights.
If you are inspired to learn more or make a difference, take part in these important conversations centering race, equity and inclusion. Find more resources about race, equity and inclusion, here.