Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

In Her Pink Hair by Jill Dana, Stephanie has pink hair. She didn't always have pink hair. She used to have long, wavy brown hair. Then it was short brown hair. Then it was no hair at all. The hair finally started to grow back, but it was really short. Stephanie's mother dyed it pink and it looked really smart on her. Stephanie certainly seemed pleased with her pink hair. You see, Stephanie has cancer. She was too sick to come to school, but the narrator was allowed to visit her. They were, after all, best friends. They were allowed to play together for a short time, but Stephanie tired very easily, even with her pink hair. When the narrator suggested, “I don’t think you can have pink hair at school, can you?”, Stephanie answered, “I’m not coming to school anymore.” And she didn't. The narrator could no longer see Stephanie, but if she closed her eyes and thought about pink hair, she could see her friend again. You see, Stephanie lost her battle with cancer, so her best friend not only had to deal with Stephanie's illness and her ever-changing hair styles and colors, she had to deal with Stephanie's death and the loss of a good friend.

Author Jill Dana has written a delightful and colorful picture book that helps young readers deal with dread diseases like cancer, and death, especially when it affects someone they love such as a best friend. It's very carefully and tastefully done. The images of the children are created with modeled clay. Whilst the symbolism of the clay might be lost on the children, the symbolism should be clear to adults, as it's a Biblical reference to man and woman being created, molded out of clay, sanctified and transformed as man and woman journey through life: God is the potter and man and woman are the clay. This is an excellent story and very timely in its need for young readers to understand and deal with illness and death.