Bintou's Braids is a multicultural book written by Sylvuanne Diouf. Illustrated by Shane Evans.

Bintou's Braids is about a little girl who wants to have braids. Her family do not want her to have braids. They tell her a story of a little girl who had braids but no one else has them. The girl was very  mean and did not have many friends because of the way she is toward others. Bintou still wants to have braids. She talks about the braids with her grandma. She see's that her sister and all of the other ladies have braids and still wants them. She has four little tuffs on her head and does not think she is pretty. The older ladies have braids and gold coins that hang from the braid. She goes to the beach one day and see's that there are two men out on a boat that flipped over and are having a hard time getting back to shore. She goes and finds fisherman to help rescue the men. After that all of the town and her family where so thankful. They ask her what do you want in return. She says I want braids in my hair. Her mother says she can have them. She went to bed that night and dreamed about her having braids and yellow and blue birds. She woke up and told her grandma and she started playing with her hair. She started to put birds in it that were yellow and blue. She looked at her hair and realized how pretty she was. She stilled had the four tuffs plus the birds. 

Bintou's Braids is a folktale book. Her grandma told her the story of braids of the girl. This book is for grades K-3.

Activity

After reading this book kids can see how hearing stories from the past can be a influence on there life's in the present. Life lessons happen each and every day. The kids could go around the room and talk to there peers and ask them if they have any stories that applied to there life right now. For example my dad had always wanted a toy plane. His parents would not let him have it. They wanted him to work hard for it. They did not want to just hand it to him. The kids need to write down to life lessons they have learned about life lessons.

Readers Response Questions 

How was the girls response to her not getting the braids right away?

Why do you think you should embrace the way you look?

Should you question what your family wants you to do?

What have you learned about this culture?

Author

Sylvuanne Diouf is a award winning historian of African Diaspora. She writes about of the black history. This book was a great way of talking about there culture in a kids perspective. Her books are Slavery’s Exiles: The Story of the American Maroons and Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas. 

Website: Received September 2,2016, From, 
http://asp.tumblebooks.com/Result.aspx?m=Author&key=Sylvianne%20Diouf