My Hair is a Garden

Can we tend to our sense of self the way we tend to a garden? Can a garden teach us self-acceptance and resilience? Cozbi Cabrera’s picture book, My Hair is a Garden, demonstrates the way a little girl who is teased for her appearance takes heart in the kind guidance of an older neighbor who is a gardener. A garden contains beauty in many forms, and a tree is not better than a ground cover: “They’re both beautiful […] even though they’re so different.” The neighbor teaches the girl practical lessons in caring for her hair, but more importantly and subtly, she sows in her the seeds of self-confidence.