Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship

Written by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Narrated by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Two poets, one white and one black, explore race and childhood in this must-have collection tailored to provoke thought and conversation.

How can Irene and Charles work together on their fifth grade poetry project? They don't know each other . . . and they're not sure they want to. Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is black, use this fictional setup to delve into different experiences of race in a relatable way, exploring such topics as hair, hobbies, and family dinners.

This remarkable collaboration invites listeners of all ages to join the dialogue by putting their own words to their experiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner
• Release date: Jan 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781541589513

Irene Latham

Irene Latham is the author of more than a dozen current and forthcoming works of poetry, fiction, and picture books. Her work includes Charlotte Huck Honor Book and ALA Notable Children's Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship (co-written with Charles Waters) and the Caldecott Honor Book The Cat Man of Aleppo(co-written by Karim Shamsi-Basha). In 2016 she won the ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award. Visit her at www.irenelatham.com.

Reviews for Can I Touch Your Hair?

[merida miller · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lovely story. The end notes by the authors gave me chills n