Featured Book- I Love My Cotton Candy Hair by Nicole Updegraff

“The greatest gift you can give a child is that of absolute self love and acceptance.” – Nicole

Series I LOVE my Cotton Candy Hair! is the first release in a new children’s book series titled A Girl named Charlie Presents… Stories about loving yourself just the way you are! Every story in the series focuses on the principle that that every child is absolutely perfect just the way they are and the first release is no different.

Written for children ages 2-8, I LOVE my Cotton Candy Hair! focuses on a little girl celebrating her hair. It begins with her sharing all that is fun, and not so fun, about her cotton candy locks, continues with her recognizing the variations and beauty in her friends and family, and concludes with the proclamation that while, “…All that (other) hair is pretty and fun… I LOVE being me and everything that comes with it. Especially my fluffy, fuzzy, cotton candy hair!”

Self doubt is something we all struggle with at one point or another. Nicole believes, “We all start out loving ourselves. We are playful and carefree and don’t worry about the superficial things we put so much stake into as adolescents, teenagers and even adults. Somewhere along the way something convinces us we are less than perfect being ourselves; that our differences are something needing to be fixed or ashamed of. My hope is this project will be a reminder to all children that it’s okay to be yourself. In fact it’s perfect! Being unique is what makes each of us magnificent!”

Click here to visit Nicole Updegraff’s website: www.cottoncandypublishing.webs.com

For the author, this series was born of necessity. Many new parents take joy in finding fun, substantive reading material for their child and Nicole was no different. After having her first daughter she would search bookstores and libraries only to realize she could never quite find what she was looking for; fun and charming books for young black children with stories that instill a feeling of satisfaction and pride in their natural beauty. Years of waiting and hoping ‘someone’ would create what she was looking for, coupled with a disconcerting experience where her three year old daughter came home very upset saying that she wanted her hair to be “straight and yellow” like her friend, compelled her to marry her love of writing with her love of children’s artwork and create something herself. In doing so she not only developed a children’s book series every child can relate to, but she also developed a series character we haven’t seen before, one of mixed race, which is based on her oldest daughter, four year old Charlie.

This book is beautifully written and illustrated. It highlights the beauty of all hair types of all ethnicities. In a society and time where young girls are endlessly bombarded by narrow standards of beauty and “good hair” in the media, this book is a breath of fresh air! It is currently available on Amazon.com for $16.99.

Author: Nicole Updegraff