Frizzy

Winner of the 2023 Pura Belpré Award for Children's Text Winner of the 2023 Eisner for Best Publication for Kids October 2022 Indie Bestseller New York Times-bestselling author Claribel A. Ortega and star debut artist Rose Bousamra's Frizzy is about Marlene, a young Dominican girl whose greatest enemy is the hair salon! Through her struggles and triumphs, this heartwarming and gorgeous middle-grade graphic novel shows the radical power of accepting yourself as you are, frizzy curls and all. Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and "growing up." That means straightening her hair every weekend so she could have "presentable", "good hair". But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn't understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tia Ruby—she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair.

Frizzy Haired Zuzu is a children's picture book about accepting and loving your appearance. Zuzu loves riding her bike and dancing to all kinds of music. Her curly red hair would bounce when she danced. But Zuzu hates her hair. The older she gets, the bigger it grows. With her sisters and mother, she tries several hilarious—yet disastrous—solutions to tame her frizzy hair. Finally she saves up all her money to visit a salon. But with straighter hair, will she still feel like herself? Zuzu must dig deep down to sort out her feelings about what is beautiful to others…and herself.

What our readers have said: "My favorite part of the story was learning the hair types.” Jayden J.K., 11, Bowling Green, KY “It's a cool little story. I liked the picture of Keisha. I learned that my hair is a 1b.” Lincoln, 11, Bowling Green, KY "My favorite part of the story is the hair type chart. Keisha is my favorite character. I didn’t know there could be many different hair types.” Jordan W., 10, Bowling Green, KY The Frizz Girls are a new kid's picture book series aimed at teaching young girls ages 5-13 on how to take care of their wavy or curly hair.For many young wavy and curly girls, some have parents, grandparents and guardians that don't have wavy or curly hair and find themselves stumped on how to teach their wavy or curly kiddos how to properly care for their hair. And many adults that don't have any experience with wavy or curly hair, tend to label a wavy or curly kiddo's hair as: frizzy or messy, which can have a HUGE impact on a child's self-esteem. The Frizz Girls are the brain-child of Stacy Schilling, and were created to share their tips and tricks on how all wavies and curlies can take proper care of their hair and have the confidence to do it themselves. Stacy knows what it's like to grow up with parents that don't know or understand how to properly care for wavy or curly hair, and doesn't want to see anyone go through what she did as a child.

Jeannie Avery Gibbins has frizzy hair and a wild imagination. Every day her mother has to help tame the frizz to get her ready for school. But each morning, when Jeannie sees her hair in the mirror, she gets an idea. Today, she doesn't see frizzy hair, instead she sees a lion's mane. What do you think Jeannie's hair will turn into tomorrow?

An anthology of short fiction featuring the finalist selections from the 2015 Saints + Sinners Literary Festival.