In a poor Mexican village, Erandi surprises her mother by offering to sell her long,
beautiful hair in order to raise enough money to buy a new fishing net.
Antonio Hernandez Madrigal was born and raised int he state of Michoacan, Mexico. Inspired by his favorite author,
Henry David Thoreau, he came to the United States in search of better working opportunities. He began his writing career in 1994.

This book tells the story of Erandi giving up her beautiful, long braids, so her family can afford a new fishing net, despite her birthday. I think this book teaches an amazing lesson about sacrifice and responsibility. For example, her mother was trying to sell her hair, but lacked the length needed, when Erandi decided she would sell hers. This shows how brave, strong, and caring Erandi is; to make such a sacrifice for her family. This book also gives readers insight into the culture of Mexico during this time and the pride that women took in their hair. I also really enjoyed the illustrations and felt they represented the time period well. This would be a great book to read in a classroom. Opening up the minds of children, teaching them about different cultures, and teaching children to sacrifice for the ones they love are only a few amazing things that this book can do. ( )

It is the day before Erandi's 7th birthday and Erandi and her family are going about their typical routines: making the food, going fishing and walking through town. Erandi's mother notes while fishing that they need a new net becasue their's is old. While Erandi and her mother are going through the town, they see that the barber is buying hair. Erandi finds this strange and asks her mother who explains that their village is known to have the softest most luxurious hair and people would come from the city to buy it for wigs and other such things. Erandi is excited because, every year, she gets to go to the town store and pick out one things. But this year, Erandi's parents need to get a new fishing net too. Erandi doesn't know what her family will do or if she would even get a gift for her birthday. The day of Erandi's birthday comes and Erandi's mother brings her to the store to pick out her gift. While they're at the store, Erandi sees a doll she really wants but she already had her heart set on a new dress. After they bought the dress, they go to the barber shop and Erandi is scared because she thinks her mom is gonna sell her long hair. instead, her mom tries to sell her own hair, but the barber says it is not long enough. Erandi then steps up and sits in the chair to sell her own hair so her family can buy the new fishing net. The barber measures and cuts off her long braids and they go on their way. Erandi notices her mother crying and she says, "Don't worry Mama, my braids will grow back as long and pretty as before. Erandi's mother then tells her that they paid more than she expected so they would be able to afford the new fishing net and they could also get her the new doll. It was a sweet ending to the story. ( )

Erandi's Braids is an amazing book to read to children. It exposes children to the way life was in Mexico around 1940s and 1950s, but it also teaches children about caring and helping others. This book is about a young girl named Erandi who was turning seven years old. Erandi had beautiful long hair, and during this time period people would often sell their long hair in exchange for money. Erandi's mother was going to sell her hair to have money for a new fishing net, but unfortunately her hair was not long enough. Erandi saw that her family needed the money, and she knew that her mother already sacrificed some money to get her a birthday gift. Erandi wanted to help her mother out, so she decided to have her long hair cut and sold. Erandi's mother was disappointed that her daughter had to sacrifice her long hair for her, but Erandi knew she made the right decision.
This book teaches children to look out for others, and to help those that we love in any way that we can. ( )

This book made me tear up a little bit--it's about a young girl who sells her long hair, which is a great source of pride for the Mexican women, so her mother can afford a fishing net. The art felt like it was almost carved from wood in the traditional Mexican style (featured in other texts), which gave it a very folk lore sort of feel. Students will enjoy that, as it will give them a greater sense of history. The story emphasizes sacrifice and empathy, which would be great for younger readers to experience, especially through a multicultural format. The message is very clear: you do what you have to do for those that you love. It would be easy to connect it with lessons on empathy and being a good neighbor for students. ( )