Hair Oil Magic

by Anu Chouhan

Overview

A beautiful picture book about the joyful magic in the tradition of hair oiling and a celebration of the bond between parent and child.

Meenu loves Magic Hair Days, when Mommy mixes sweet-smelling oils together and massages the potion into Meenu's scalp and hair. It always leaves Meenu with a fuzzy, magical feeling. And after bath time, when Mom washes the oils out, Meenu's hair is soft and shining.

When Meenu decides one day to mix the oils without any help, she discovers something's wrong: No matter how many oils she mixes, the magic just isn't there!

What is she missing? But when Mommy comes to help, massaging Meenu's head, the fuzzy, magical feeling returns! Was it really in the oils, or something else? Inspired by Anu Chouhan's own memories and family, this author-illustrator debut is a lovely depiction of a cultural tradition and a delightful story that emphasizes that magical bond between parents and children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547611041
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Anu Chouhan is a Canadian illustrator and video game artist. A trained animator with a background in mobile game development, Anu often combines her love of her Punjabi cultural heritage into her art, as well as drawing inspiration from anime, nature, and global fashion. Her unique, edgy, and energetic art has garnered attention from major publications, celebrities, and influencers online. She is the illustrator of A Dupatta Is... and Henna Is...

Editorial Reviews

Chouhan's warm-hued digital art adds richness to this tale of one South Asian family's weekly custom—and the way a centuries-old cultural practice is handed down through generations.” —Publishers Weekly

“A nice title for the family shelves, and a sweet story about a wonderful day between mothers and daughters.” —School Library Journal

“This sweet, charmingly illustrated tale will resonate with readers and their caregivers who share the hair-oiling ritual and will create points of connection with readers from other cultures in which women care for each other's hair through similar intergenerational traditions.” —Booklist

“This is a sweet, deeply relatable story centered on a common South Asian ritual. A tender celebration of the simple traditions that bind families.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2023-11-18
A young South Asian girl revels in her family’s ritual of hair oiling.

Meenu always looks forward to Sundays, when her mother gently massages sweet-smelling oils into her hair. To Meenu, this feels like “floating stars twinkling around her heart!” and washing the oil leaves her hair shiny and soft. One Sunday, Meenu decides to mix up the magic oils all by herself but struggles to re-create the magic of her mother’s concoction. When her slippery hands lead to a mishap, a disappointed Meenu cries in frustration. As her mother gently washes her hair—without the oils—the magical feeling returns, to Meenu’s surprise. Biji, her grandmother, explains that the magic lies in her mother’s love and in passing down this shared ritual. Mommy explains that her mother used to oil her hair, as did her mother’s mother, stretching back many generations. A happier Meenu basks in the warmth and love of her family and treats her mother to her own Magic Hair Day. This is a sweet, deeply relatable story centered on a common South Asian ritual. Cartoonish illustrations depict large-eyed characters and swirls of color—appropriate, given the theme of magic. Cultural markers—the kara, a stainless-steel bracelet worn by the women, and framed pictures of a turbaned man and the Golden Temple—cue the family as Sikh.

A tender celebration of the simple traditions that bind families. (author’s note, hair-oiling tips) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews