In this beautifully illustrated picture book written by Commonwealth Prize-winning author Olive Senior and illustrated by the much-acclaimed artist of Anna Carries Water a little girl learns to love her difficult-to-manage curly hair.

Olive Senior was born in Jamaica in 1941. She lives both there and in Canada. Her first collection of short stories, Summer Lightning (1986), won the Commonwealth Literature Prize. She has published two subsequent collections of short stories, The Arrival of the Snake Woman (1989) and The Discerner of Hearts (1995). She has two collections of poems, Talking of Trees (1985) and Gardening in the Tropics (1995). She has written on different aspects of Caribbean culture and was editor of Jamaica Journal.

Olive Senior's profile page

LAURA JAMES is a self-taught painter and illustrator whose African- and Caribbean-American heritage and love of color, design and story inform her work. This book was inspired by her mother, a homemaker, nanny and domestic worker, along with Laura’s paintings in the Nanny Series. Her art has appeared in many solo and group exhibitions, textbooks and film, and the picture books Anna Carries Water and Boonoonoonous Hair! both by Olive Senior. Laura lives in the Bronx, New York.

Laura James' profile page

"Jamaican-Canadian writer Senior uses playful rhymes to speak directly to young readers who may struggle with standing out from other kids their age. And she includes poignant moments as when Jamilla spots a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, who also has plaits in her hair.
The artwork by James — who is of Antiguan heritage — is an explosion of colour and energy, with each one of her illustrations perfectly echoing the vibrancy of Jamilla's ever-changing electric and kinetic hairstyles. James brilliantly reinforces her theme by making Jamilla's class multicultural and including a spread of paintings by famous artists — all of whom have widely individual styles.
Together, author and illustrator show young readers that being different isn't a bad thing. Not only does Jamilla learn to appreciate her hair, the girls in her class think it's boonoonoonous, too."
— Quill & Quire