ADVANCE INFORMATION SHEET

Daddy Do My Hair? Beth's Twists

It's Sunday evening and dinner is over.

Beth is excited and heads to the sofa.

Daddy is there with a smile and a chair,

"Daddy," she asks, "will you please do my hair?"

Daddy Do My Hair?Beth's Twistsis a beautiful new book created to celebrate fathers and their relationship with their children. It's also about natural curly hair - and how important it is for all children to know that they are absolutely perfect just the way they are! It's a simple and beautifully illustrated rhyming story that makes for relaxed parent-child reading time. Daddy and Beth are characters that everyone - including the severely underrepresented demographic of black families - can identify with and enjoy getting to know. 

"A survey of publishers and literary agents indicates that out of 203 UK-based published novelists 30% came from a BAME background. The business case for publishers to be more culturally diverse in recruitment and the writers they publish is also compelling. BAME communities' disposable income currently stands at an estimated £300bn, and they are expected to represent 30% of the population by 2050."

https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/resources/view/writing-the-future

Daddy Do My Hair? Beth's Twistsis a celebration of how everyday, seemingly small events - such as learning how to do your child's hair - can bond families together. The first book in theDaddy Do My Hair?series includes key messages that are essential to the happy and healthy development of any child. Author Tola Okogwu explains the background to its creation: "Whilst browsing through Instagram, I came across a picture from one of my favourite illustrators showing a black father braiding his daughter's hair and it immediately reminded me of my husband and daughter. I have a very early start on the days I'm in the office and my husband gets our daughter ready for nursery on those days. He had to learn how to care for and style her hair, which for him was extremely challenging but also very rewarding. The title of the book came to me in that moment and the series has since developed to include a range of family circumstances and inter-family relationship issues."

About the Author

Tola Okogwu is a British blogger and founder of the hair and beauty blog,My Long Hair Journey(MLHJ). Tola holds a Bachelor's degree in journalism and has written for several beauty publications including Black Beauty and Hair Magazine.

Through her blog, and wider writing, she is an active participant and voice in the natural hair movement and seeks to inspire, educate and empower young girls of colour to take ownership of who they are and everything that makes them unique.

Tola is passionate about parenthood, the role of fathers. and strongly believes that there should be a big boost in the resources for parents that are available freely and widely. An avid reader, Tola enjoys spending time with her family and friends around her home in Kent where she lives with her husband and daughter.

'Daddy Do My Hair? Beth's Twists' is Tola's first children's picture book and was inspired by the relationship between her husband and daughter. It is the first in a series of books, which are designed to challenge some of the perceptions and preconceptions of skin and hair colour, relationships between fathers and their children, bullying, friendships, relationships and grief.

ESSENTIAL DETAILS

Genre:Children (8 and under), Picture book series

Publisher:Florence Elizabeth Publishing Ltd

Publication date:November 2016

Pages:32

Availability:Paperback, International availability

ISBN:9780995486904

Purchaselink:http://daddydomyhair.com/ddmh-beths-twists/

Distributionlink:http://www.yps-publishing.co.uk/distribution_5.html

Online contact:http://www.daddydomyhair.com/

http://www.florenceelizabethpublishing.com/

Author:Tola Okogwu

Thanks in part to Chris Rock'sGood Hairfilm and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (shortlisted for the Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction 2014) natural black hair has been in the beauty limelight and Tola Okogwu is one of the British hair bloggers working hard to keep the topic at the forefront. She hopes the Daddy Do My Hair? children's book series will contribute to keep the conversation going.

For more information, editorial opportunities, interview requests or review copies please get in touch with either Sam Batt or Helen Lewis:SamuelBatt@LiterallyPR.comorHelenLewis@LiterallyPR.com

+44 (0) 8709 619 069