Princess Katrina and the Hair Charmer

Growing up one of a handful of black kids in rural Northern England, I was a precocious reader and loved all the usual fairy tales. But I could never imagine myself as one of those lovely, sleek princesses. I simply didn’t have the right hair for it. If I was going to be saved from dragons, courted by princes and have any kind of adventure I needed that long, flowing, grade A, princess-style hair. My little afro had no ‘swishability’ and it was clearly going to ruin my chances of ever becoming princess material.

Princess Katrina was my way of addressing the balance for the wiry-haired, kinky-haired girls and giving them their own princess who celebrates the strength, beauty and versatility of her natural afro curls.

In 2004 the book made the top ten of The Guardian children’s book list and is still being read as a multicultural learning tool in schools in the UK and beyond. See more details on Amazon