Can I Touch Your Hair?

Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship

  • Interest Level: Grade 3 - Grade 6
  • Reading Level: Grade 4

Two poets, one white and one black, explore race and childhood in this must-have collection tailored to provoke thought and conversation.

How can Irene and Charles work together on their fifth grade poetry project? They don’t know each other . . . and they’re not sure they want to.

Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is Black, use this fictional setup to delve into different experiences of race in a relatable way, exploring such topics as hair, hobbies, and family dinners. Accompanied by artwork from acclaimed illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko (of The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage), this remarkable collaboration invites readers of all ages to join the dialogue by putting their own words to their experiences.

Format Your Price Add
978-1-5124-0442-5
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978-1-5124-7215-8
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978-1-5415-8950-6
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978-1-5415-8951-3
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Interest Level Grade 3 - Grade 6
Reading Level Grade 4
Genre Picture Books
Category Diverse Books: #OwnVoices, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity, SEL: A Self-Awareness, SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: D Relationship Skills, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2018
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Books ®
Language English
Number of Pages 40
Publication Date 2018-01-01
Text Type Poetry
BISACS JNF053060, JNF042000
Dewey 811/.6
Graphics Full-color illustrations
Dimensions 7 x 10
Guided Reading Level U
ATOS Reading Level 4.6
Accelerated Reader® Quiz 195373
Accelerated Reader® Points 0.5
Features Author/Illustrator note, Awards, Original artwork, Reviewed, Starred Reviews, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

Can I Touch Your Hair?

Two poets, one white and one black, explore race and childhood in this must-have collection tailored to provoke thought and conversation. How can Irene and Charles work together on their fifth grade poetry project? They don’t know each… View available downloads →

Addressing Race and Racism with Readers

This week and throughout the coming month, the United States marks several notable anniversaries: The 2nd anniversary of George Floyd’s death on May 25, the 101st anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre on May 30, and Juneteenth on June 19 commemorating the emancipation of enslaved… View →

Awards

  • Utah Beehive Award Nominee, Nominated, 2020
  • Blue Hen Book Award Nominee, Nominated, 2020
  • William Allen White Children's Book Awards Master List, Winner, 2020
  • Great Lakes Great Books Award Nominee, Nominated, 2020
  • NCTE Notable Poetry Books, Winner, 2019
  • Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards Nominee, Nominated, 2019
  • White Ravens, Winner, 2019
  • ALA Notable Children's Books, Winner, 2019
  • Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction Honor Book, Runner-up, 2019
  • Cybils Finalist, Short-listed, 2018
  • Kirkus Best Middle-Grade Books of the Year, Winner, 2018

Reviews

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“[A]n unusually candid book for pre-YA kids about race and difference, allowing for the possibility of the mistakes (the word is right in the subtitle) but also a hopeful outcome as Irene and Charles find enrichment in their friendship.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A Fuse #8 Production

“It took four people to bring us Can I Touch Your Hair? and countless others to bring it to our library and bookstore shelves. It takes only one person to buy it and show it to a kid. And it takes only one to use it as the conversation starter we’ve needed for so long.”—A Fuse #8 Production

The Horn Book Magazine

“Qualls and Alko’s layering of print newspaper clippings over paint begs readers to take a closer look. . . . [A]n excellent read-aloud or a launch pad for collaborative classroom writing.”—The Horn Book Magazine

Publishers Weekly

“[D]elicately demonstrate[s] the complexity of identity and the power of communication to build friendships.”—starred, Publishers Weekly

Booklist

“Young readers searching for means to have difficult, emotional, and engaged discussions about race will find an enlightening resource in Irene and Charles’ explorations.”—Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

“A fresh approach to exploring interracial communication. . . . A brave and touching portrayal worthy of sharing in classrooms across America.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews

Carole Boston Weatherford

“A fresh and heartwarming take on bridging the racial divide.”—Carole Boston Weatherford, author of Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement

Janet Wong

“These poems explore diversity with refreshing honesty and complexity—and truly capture the personalities and voices of these two rising stars of poetry.”—Janet Wong, author and co-creator of The Poetry Friday Anthology series

J. Patrick Lewis

“In tantalizing free verse poems, Irene Latham and Charles Waters reimagine themselves as fifth-grade strangers, then classmates, and finally friends. Can I Touch Your Hair? is a compelling portrait of two youngsters dancing delicately through a racial minefield.”—J. Patrick Lewis, former US Children’s Poet Laureate