Self-Esteem & Self-Respect, Fantasy & Magic, African-American 

Penny wanted to wear her hair “down” like all of the other girls in her class. She wondered why her friends had long straight hair and she did not. Feeling different made her feel sad. Penny’s mom assured her that her hair is perfect. Just because her hair is different from her friends hair, it didn't mean that it was bad. Penny's mom decides to style her hair in puffballs, magic puffballs. Penny learns though a series of fun adventures, that wonderful and magical things happen when she wears her puffballs. Join Penny as she discovers the magic of her puffballs. Message from the author: Penny was born out of my love for my daughter, Paris, and my desire for her to feel comfortable, confident and secure in her skin. Paris questioned why her hair was different from all of the other girls’ and wondered why she couldn’t wear her hair like theirs. I wanted her to understand that her hair was different but that different didn’t mean bad. One night, I made up a bedtime story about a little girl named Penny who had magic puffballs in her hair. Both my daughter and my son loved it so much that they wanted to hear about Penny every night. To keep it interesting, each night I added a different adventure, and from time to time I introduced additional characters. The kids loved these stories so much that Penny became a staple in our bedtime routine. I ended up with more than 30 stories, and we enjoyed Penny’s adventures for many, many years. The idea for a book came to me as I saw little girls throughout my travels with their hair styled in puffballs. I thought it would be great to be able to tell these girls the story of Penny, a little girl like them. Little girls often notice their hair as one of the first areas of difference, and seeing this as bad can lead to a poor self-image. It is my hope that through this book, other girls will see a bit of themselves in Penny and enjoy her magic puffballs. - from Amzon