Madrigal, Antonio Hernandez. (1999). Erandi's Braids. New York: Putnam's Books.

This book is based off a specific time period in a small village in Mexico. Erandi's birthday is highly anticipated, and when her mother and her go into town she looks forward to picking out her very own birthday present in a few days. On their way home, Erandi and her mother hear about a service that collects hair for payment. When Erandi's birthday approaches she fears that her mother has forgotten about her present. She previously had heard her mother mention that they needed a new fishing net, but they do not have enough money for it. Then, Erandi fears her mother is going to cut and sell Erandi's beautiful braids (which she takes pride in). However, as Erandi and her mother approach the man cutting hair, Erandi's mother plans on having her own hair cut for money. In the end, Erandi steps up to have her hair cut for enough money to buy a new fishing net as well as her birthday present.
This book is a great multicultural picture book. The author of this book was born in Michoacan, México, and he tells a beautiful historically accurate story of a specific time period in a small Mexican village, in which many women were forced to sell their hair for money. In addition, Tomie Depaola beautifully depicts Mexican embroidery and elaborate colors through his illustrations.

Cover

The following is a lesson plan using Erandi's Braids as a mentor text to teach a multicultural lesson on story structure: