Loving yourself and being kind—Brandi German, a fourth grade teacher with Hillsborough Virtual K-12, explores these themes in her first children’s story, Hello Curls. In the book, Ashley has a difficult time loving her curly, kinky hair. She desperately wants to fit in with the girls who have straight hair. However, her journey to achieve a new style goes much differently than she planned.
“We don’t see what’s going on inside others. We never know how people are feeling inside. It’s all about building each other up,” said German.
She was inspired to write ‘Ashley’s’ story because it really is her story, and the story of so many little girls in her classes, especially black and brown girls whose hair may not conform to the traditional or popular look.
“There’s little girls who are changing who they are to fit in. I just realized there are so many young girls who aren’t 100 percent confident in themselves, and they want to fit into the image of someone they see in life or on television. I wanted to inspire little girls all over that it is okay to be you. You do big things in life when you feel you’re worth it,” said German.
Girls everywhere can feel inspired and learn to love themselves a little more when they read Hello Curls.
German has a master’s degree in creative writing, and during the COVID-19 quarantine, she put away any excuses and she finished her first book. Girls all over will be lucky for it. She even built in a page of affirmations young girls can post in their rooms and bathrooms so they can train themselves to speak positively to and about themselves.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/HelloCurlyConfident1. Copies are available for purchase on Amazon by searching ‘Hello Curls’ book.
