• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 6
• Reading age: 9 to 10

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.

Irene Latham is the author of more than a dozen current and forthcoming works of poetry, fiction, and picture books, including Charlotte Huck Honor Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship (co-written with Charles Waters) and the Caldecott Honor Book The Cat Man of Aleppo(co-written by Karim Shamsi-Basha). Winner of the 2016 ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, she became obsessed with octopuses after reading The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. Just like Agnes, she enjoys sending—and receiving—postcards. Visit her at www.irenelatham.com.

Irene Latham's profile page

Charles Waters is a children's poet, actor, and co-author of Charlotte Huck Honor Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship. His novel in verse, Mascot (co-written with Traci Sorell) was recognized as a Charlotte Huck Honor Book and a 2024 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book. His poems have appeared in various anthologies including One Minute Till Bedtime and The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry. Charles performs his one-person show as well as conducts poetry performance and writing workshops for elementary and middle school audiences. He lives in Georgia.

Charles Waters' profile page

Selina Alko spends her days melding words and mixed-media art to convey stories of hope and inspiration—as well as an alternative viewpoint. Her books include The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage, Can I Touch Your Hair?, Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama, I is for Immigrants, and Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport, which was a National Jewish Book Award Finalist and selected as a Best Children's Book of the Year by Bank Street College of Education and School Library Journal. Selina lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Selina Alko's profile page

Sean Qualls' profile page

• Nominated, Great Lakes Great Books Award
• Nominated, Blue Hen Book Award
• Winner, William Allen White Children's Book Awards
• Nominated, Utah Beehive Book Award
• Winner, ALA Notable Children's Books
• Runner-up, Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction
• Winner, White Ravens
• Nominated, Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards
• Winner, NCTE Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels
• Short-listed, Cybils
• Winner, Girls of Summer
• Winner, 10 Books All Young Georgians Should Read
• Winner, Kirkus Best Middle-Grade Books of the Year

"A fresh approach to exploring interracial communication. . . . A brave and touching portrayal worthy of sharing in classrooms across America."—starred, Kirkus Reviews

"[D]elicately demonstrate[s] the complexity of identity and the power of communication to build friendships."—starred, Publishers Weekly

"Young readers searching for means to have difficult, emotional, and engaged discussions about race will find an enlightening resource in Irene and Charles' explorations."—Booklist

"It took four people to bring us Can I Touch Your Hair? and countless others to bring it to our library and bookstore shelves. It takes only one person to buy it and show it to a kid. And it takes only one to use it as the conversation starter we've needed for so long."—A Fuse #8 Production

"In tantalizing free verse poems, Irene Latham and Charles Waters reimagine themselves as fifth-grade strangers, then classmates, and finally friends. Can I Touch Your Hair? is a compelling portrait of two youngsters dancing delicately through a racial minefield."—J. Patrick Lewis, former US Children's Poet Laureate

"[A]n unusually candid book for pre-YA kids about race and difference, allowing for the possibility of the mistakes (the word is right in the subtitle) but also a hopeful outcome as Irene and Charles find enrichment in their friendship."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A fresh and heartwarming take on bridging the racial divide."—Carole Boston Weatherford, author of Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement

"Qualls and Alko's layering of print newspaper clippings over paint begs readers to take a closer look. . . . [A]n excellent read-aloud or a launch pad for collaborative classroom writing."—The Horn Book Magazine

"These poems explore diversity with refreshing honesty and complexity—and truly capture the personalities and voices of these two rising stars of poetry."—Janet Wong, author and co-creator of The Poetry Friday Anthology series