BRAIDED ROOTS: THE INTERWEAVING OF HISTORY, FAMILY, AND A FATHER’S LOVE written and read by Pasha Westbrook and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight

Two Native creators, writer Pasha Westbrook and illustrator Madelyn Goodnight, tell a woven narrative in BRAIDED ROOTS. The loving story begins with a father tenderly pulling strands of his daughter’s locks of hair together like “the strung-together stars in the Milky Way, like the many rivers that wind and run before meeting in the ocean wide.” The lyricism paints not just a picture of a strong and caring father but of one who sees he and his daughter as a strand in the family story, a part of the history of those who walked “on that beaten-down dirt path from Mississippi to Oklahoma.” There are many stories about hair, but with its fresh images and the link to family and history, this one is as strong as “blackstrap molasses on our morning biscuits.” The author’s narrative in audio is just as striking. Find a link to the book and audio in the purchase button below.