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

by Irene Latham, Charles Waters

Other authors: Selina Alko (Illustrator), Sean Qualls (Illustrator)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
240	30	113,102	(4.32)	2
Juvenile Nonfiction. Language Arts. Sociology. HTML: 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. Accompanied by artwork from acclaimed illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko (of The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage), this remarkable collaboration invites readers of all ages to join the dialogue by putting their own words to their experiences. .… (more)

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Youth: Poetry (8)

Youth: BLM (123)

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Independent Reading Level- Grades 3-6

dwtolson | Apr 24, 2024 |

An incredible book of poems in two voices between two fifth grade students, one white and one black. Throughout the poems the two classmates discuss difficult issues related to race, family, belonging, etc, while sharing with readers their different persepectives and getting to know each other in a very real way.

megannealis | Jul 26, 2023 |

Can I touch your hair is set up with 2 characters; Irene and Charles. Each page is a poem by Irene and then the next is a poem by Charles. The two are stuck together for a writing project, Irene is white and Charles is black. They compare many parts of life: shoes, hair, church, family, recess, and school. In the end the two become friends and are looking forward to the next writing assignment. I would use this with grades 2-4 (

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KimAMoore | Jul 9, 2023 |

I love how this book is honest and has some hard topics as well. I think that this book would be most beneficial for older elementary students, so that they really understand the concepts that Irene ( the author) is trying to portray. But in the world we live in now we need honest authors like this, to say things bluntly. (

)

Abby_Natalia_Parra | Mar 6, 2023 |

Irene and Charles reluctantly pair up for a class poetry assignment. Both students are in 5th grade, Irene is a white girl and Charles is a black boy. On each two-page spread, Charles has one poem on one page and Irene has her poem on the other. Each poem is related but the perspective is different. Their poems explore diversity, social issues, and different cultural upbringings. The book gives you a look at what both students are feeling but may not be comfortable saying. As the book moves on Irene and Charles begin to develop a friendship, learning they had more in common than they thought. This would be great for upper elementary students or middle school students. This book received the Charlotte Huck Honor.

CH31 | Jul 28, 2022 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Irene Latham	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Waters, Charles	—	main author	all editions	confirmed
Alko, Selina	Illustrator	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Qualls, Sean	Illustrator	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

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▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Blue Hen Book Award (Nominee – Middle Readers – 2020)

Charlotte Huck Award (Honor – 2019)

NCTE Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels (Poetry – 2019)

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee – Grades 3-6 – 2020)

Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee – Poetry – 2020)

William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee – Grades 3-5 – 2021)

Notable Lists

Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids (Poetry – 2018)

Just One More Page Recommendation List (Interest Level 3 - 6 – 2019)

Nerdy Book Award (Poetry and Novels in Verse – 2018)

Notable Children's Book (Middle Readers – 2019)

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Epigraph

Salvation for a race, nation, or class must come from within.
-A. Philip Randolph

The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.
-Bertrand Russell

Dedication

First words

When our teacher says,
Pick a partner,
my body freezes
like a ship in ice.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Weatherford, Carol Boston

Wong, Janet

Lewis, J. Patrick

Original language

English

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Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

Juvenile Nonfiction. Language Arts. Sociology. HTML:

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. Accompanied by artwork from acclaimed illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko (of The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage), this remarkable collaboration invites readers of all ages to join the dialogue by putting their own words to their experiences.

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