Wanda the Brave

Meet Wanda with her glorious head of hair. Today, Wanda is excited to visit the salon and she knows the exact hairstyle she wants. Trouble looms when Aunty Ada, the stylist, applies a chemical relaxer on Wanda’s hair without her consent. The relaxer starts to itch and burns Wanda’s scalp. When Wanda and her new friend Nkiruka complain, Aunty Ada insists that the relaxer must stay on because a girl must suffer for beauty. But Wanda and Nkiruka disagree, they stand up, and show us how to speak up. Bold and zesty, Wanda the Brave is a celebration of black girl power and a reminder that courage and friendship is a mighty force.

Wanda the Brave is an important sequel to Wanda (Jacana Media, 2019), co-authored with Mathabo Tlali, which went on to achieve bestselling status and, with its international release in the USA and Canada (Crocodile Books, 2021), won the Skipping Stones Honor Award.