{"id":9374864015597,"title":"Acacia","handle":"acacia","description":"\u003ch6\u003eComing September 8. Pre-order today!\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/janay-brown-wood\"\u003eJaNay Brown-Wood\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/john-joven\"\u003eJohn Joven\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eAcacia, Acacia, do let your hair flow!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcacia has been locked away by Ma Gothel, left to wonder about the world beyond her tower walls. She spends her days reading stories about the outside until one day, Mahogany from Mahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale happens to find her tower. When Mahogany sees Acacia let down her long, twisted hair for Ma Gothel to climb, she returns to befriend the lonely girl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEventually the girls realize they can untwist Acacia’s hair in a way that will make it impossible to let the locks down for Ma Gothel. An escape plan from the tower unfolds, because friendship—and a dream to see the world—are powerful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: \u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/mahogany\"\u003eMahogany\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/black-hair-can\"\u003eBlack Hair Can\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eLook Inside\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-spread.jpg?v=1779117731\" alt=\"spread from 'Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale' with Acacia reading a book in her tower\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" class=\"cvr-border-gray\"\u003e\u003c!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --\u003e \u003cscript type=\"text\/javascript\" async=\"\" defer data-pin-shape=\"round\" data-pin-height=\"32\" data-pin-hover=\"true\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinit.js\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"medium-cover\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732\" alt=\"Book cover of 'Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale' with a girl with long hair sitting on a rock, surrounded by butterflies and small characters.\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-cover-hires.jpg.zip?v=1779117739\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-activity-kit.pdf?v=1786978103\"\u003eDownload the Activity Kit\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJaNay Brown-Wood, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJaNay Brown-Wood is a former early childhood professor and the author of several books for children, including \u003ci\u003eMahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale, Grandma's Tiny House\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eImani's Moon\u003c\/i\u003e. She also contributed to the poetry anthologies \u003ci\u003eThanku: Poems of Gratitude\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNo World Too Big\u003c\/i\u003e. Much of JaNay's work is intended to celebrate casual diversity, primarily featuring Black characters. She lives in California.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/janay-brown-wood\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout JaNay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Joven, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Joven is the illustrator of \u003ci\u003eMahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale, The Plan for the Gingerbread House,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePreschool, Here I Come!\u003c\/i\u003e. He grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, and studied graphic design at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He still lives there with his wife, Ana, and two children, Avril and Ian. When not illustrating, he enjoys spending quality time with his children, playing soccer with his friends, watching movies, and traveling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/john-joven\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout John.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eA familiar fairy tale is amended to increase its inclusivity and relevance for a modern audience. Acacia, here a young Black girl, is trapped in a tower with only the witchy Ma Gothel for human contact. Unlike other Rapunzel tales, there is no heroic prince: instead, Mahogany—another young Black girl with wild bouncing curls and a red cape—passes by and climbs Acacia’s hair. The two storybook characters form a lovely friendship, and together they choreograph Acacia’s rescue. Brown-Wood smartly utilizes Rapunzel’s hair to bring attention to and foster meaningful discussion about natural hair: Acacia’s hair is even more beautiful in its textured, unbraided state, but she feels compelled to braid it for Ma Gothel’s benefit. Acacia’s eventual untwisting of her braids to thwart Ma Gothel sends a powerful message to young readers to take pride in their hair’s natural beauty and wear it however they like. Joven’s digitally rendered illustrations match the playful text, and uncluttered compositions leave space for the story’s larger themes of empowerment to take center stage. VERDICT Empowering revisions to the classic tale make this a great addition to classroom fairy-tale units. Recommended for most library collections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardcover\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-62354-368-6\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 4–7\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 32\u003cbr\u003e11 x 8\u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\/\u003c\/span\u003e\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublication date: September 8, 2026\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]","published_at":"2026-06-02T15:47:13-04:00","created_at":"2026-05-20T17:37:36-04:00","vendor":"Charlesbridge","type":"Children's Book","tags":["Browse by Age_Ages 3-6","Browse by Fiction\/Nonfiction_Fiction","Browse by Format_Picture Book","Browse by Language_English","Browse by Subject_Diversity","Browse by Subject_Story Time \u0026 Play"],"price":1799,"price_min":1799,"price_max":1799,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":49997990625517,"title":"Hardcover","option1":"Hardcover","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"43686","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":48458346299629,"product_id":9374864015597,"position":1,"created_at":"2026-05-18T11:22:11-04:00","updated_at":"2026-05-18T11:22:12-04:00","alt":"Book cover of 'Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale' with a girl with long hair sitting on a rock, surrounded by butterflies and small characters.","width":600,"height":464,"src":"\/\/charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732","variant_ids":[49997990625517]},"available":true,"name":"Acacia - Hardcover","public_title":"Hardcover","options":["Hardcover"],"price":1799,"weight":567,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_quantity":10,"inventory_management":"shopify","inventory_policy":"continue","barcode":"9781623543686","featured_media":{"alt":"Book cover of 'Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale' with a girl with long hair sitting on a rock, surrounded by butterflies and small characters.","id":39955272335597,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.293,"height":464,"width":600,"src":"\/\/charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[],"quantity_rule":{"min":1,"max":null,"increment":1}}],"images":["\/\/charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732"],"featured_image":"\/\/charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":"Book cover of 'Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale' with a girl with long hair sitting on a rock, surrounded by butterflies and small characters.","id":39955272335597,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.293,"height":464,"width":600,"src":"\/\/charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732"},"aspect_ratio":1.293,"height":464,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732","width":600}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003ch6\u003eComing September 8. Pre-order today!\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/janay-brown-wood\"\u003eJaNay Brown-Wood\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/john-joven\"\u003eJohn Joven\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eAcacia, Acacia, do let your hair flow!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcacia has been locked away by Ma Gothel, left to wonder about the world beyond her tower walls. She spends her days reading stories about the outside until one day, Mahogany from Mahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale happens to find her tower. When Mahogany sees Acacia let down her long, twisted hair for Ma Gothel to climb, she returns to befriend the lonely girl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEventually the girls realize they can untwist Acacia’s hair in a way that will make it impossible to let the locks down for Ma Gothel. An escape plan from the tower unfolds, because friendship—and a dream to see the world—are powerful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: \u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/mahogany\"\u003eMahogany\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/black-hair-can\"\u003eBlack Hair Can\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eLook Inside\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-spread.jpg?v=1779117731\" alt=\"spread from 'Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale' with Acacia reading a book in her tower\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" class=\"cvr-border-gray\"\u003e\u003c!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --\u003e \u003cscript type=\"text\/javascript\" async=\"\" defer data-pin-shape=\"round\" data-pin-height=\"32\" data-pin-hover=\"true\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinit.js\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"medium-cover\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-cover.jpg?v=1779117732\" alt=\"Book cover of 'Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale' with a girl with long hair sitting on a rock, surrounded by butterflies and small characters.\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-cover-hires.jpg.zip?v=1779117739\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/acacia-activity-kit.pdf?v=1786978103\"\u003eDownload the Activity Kit\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJaNay Brown-Wood, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJaNay Brown-Wood is a former early childhood professor and the author of several books for children, including \u003ci\u003eMahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale, Grandma's Tiny House\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eImani's Moon\u003c\/i\u003e. She also contributed to the poetry anthologies \u003ci\u003eThanku: Poems of Gratitude\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNo World Too Big\u003c\/i\u003e. Much of JaNay's work is intended to celebrate casual diversity, primarily featuring Black characters. She lives in California.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/janay-brown-wood\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout JaNay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Joven, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Joven is the illustrator of \u003ci\u003eMahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale, The Plan for the Gingerbread House,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePreschool, Here I Come!\u003c\/i\u003e. He grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, and studied graphic design at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He still lives there with his wife, Ana, and two children, Avril and Ian. When not illustrating, he enjoys spending quality time with his children, playing soccer with his friends, watching movies, and traveling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/john-joven\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout John.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eA familiar fairy tale is amended to increase its inclusivity and relevance for a modern audience. Acacia, here a young Black girl, is trapped in a tower with only the witchy Ma Gothel for human contact. Unlike other Rapunzel tales, there is no heroic prince: instead, Mahogany—another young Black girl with wild bouncing curls and a red cape—passes by and climbs Acacia’s hair. The two storybook characters form a lovely friendship, and together they choreograph Acacia’s rescue. Brown-Wood smartly utilizes Rapunzel’s hair to bring attention to and foster meaningful discussion about natural hair: Acacia’s hair is even more beautiful in its textured, unbraided state, but she feels compelled to braid it for Ma Gothel’s benefit. Acacia’s eventual untwisting of her braids to thwart Ma Gothel sends a powerful message to young readers to take pride in their hair’s natural beauty and wear it however they like. Joven’s digitally rendered illustrations match the playful text, and uncluttered compositions leave space for the story’s larger themes of empowerment to take center stage. VERDICT Empowering revisions to the classic tale make this a great addition to classroom fairy-tale units. Recommended for most library collections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardcover\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-62354-368-6\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 4–7\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 32\u003cbr\u003e11 x 8\u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\/\u003c\/span\u003e\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublication date: September 8, 2026\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]"}