Text copyright © 2018 by Irene Latham and Charles Waters
Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing
Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Carolrhoda Books
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
For reading levels and more information, look up this title at
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Designed by Danielle Carnito.
Main body text set in Aptifer Slab LT Pro Medium 11/16.5 and Helvetica Neue Light 11/17.5.
Typefaces provided by Linotype AG.
The illustrations in this book were created with acrylic paint, colored pencil, and collage.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Latham, Irene, author. | Waters, Charles, 1973– author. | Qualls, Sean, illustrator. | Alko,
Selina, illustrator.
Title: Can I touch your hair? : poems of race, mistakes, and friendship / by Irene Latham and Charles
Waters ; Illustrators: Sean Qualls and Selina Alko.
Description: Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017006279 (print) | LCCN 2016045348 (ebook) | ISBN 9781512404425 (lb : alk. paper)
| ISBN 9781512408881 (eb pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Race awareness—Juvenile poetry. | Race relations—Juvenile poetry. | Friendship—
Juvenile poetry.
Classification: LCC PS3612.A8685 C36 2018 (ebook) | LCC PS3612.A8685 (print) | DDC 811/.6—dc23
LC record available at
Manufactured in the United States of America
1-39213-21106-5/16/2017
For Mama, who said,
err on the side of love
,
and for Charles, who said
yes
—I.L.
For my parents.
For
Poetry Alive!
For Bob, Rodney, Jennifer, Allan, Kenadine,
John, Camille, Alan, Anita, and Carl.
—C.W.
For the kids at PS 10 in Brooklyn
—S.Q.
For my dear friend Jessica
—S.A.
