Bedtime Bonnet is a joy. When a young child’s special bedtime bonnet goes missing, she searches the house for clues, interviewing each person in her multi-generational family as they prepare their own hair for bed. Brother twist his locs into a durag, Grandma rolls her “silver mane” with old-timey foam rollers, and Dad brushes his hair before donning his wave cap. Mom and Sister fix their hair too, but Grandpa doesn’t need to worry about getting his bald head ready for bed. Oh, wait, speaking of—that silly Grandpa! Where is he hiding? Maybe he knows what happened to his granddaughter’s special bedtime bonnet?
Young children often gravitate toward picture books that depict real life situations such as this story. I highly recommend reading this relatable picture book with kiddos of every race and ethnicity. It’s wonderful to see major publishing houses finally releasing more books by Black authors and illustrators for Black kids to see reflections of themselves and their families in everyday life. It’s also a too-often-overlooked window for a vast array of people who are not Black to be able to appreciate how this one particular Black family engages in their bedtime routine. Never would I have thought a book about a topic as commonplace as how each family member fixes their hair would give me such hope that our society is evolving to become more inclusive.