Interview with Paula and Rosie Quinn, My Hair Went on Vacation
My Hair Went on Vacation
My Hair Went on Vacation written by Paula Quinn and illustrated by Chiara Civati is a wonderful story about a young girl who loses her hair due to the autoimmune disorder, Alopecia.
This book, which is written in the first perspective takes the reader through Rosie’s journey from losing her hair and feeling like an outcast to embracing her uniqueness and educating others about Alopecia.
Through art, Rosie feels connected and in touch with her feelings. Her parents take her art creations and turn them into head scarves. Rosie wears this beautiful scarf with pride and takes the opportunity to share this love and help others struggling with Alopecia or another condition that causes lost or thinning hair.
My Hair Went on Vacation also includes a teachers guide in the back of the book with thoughtful questions to help lead a conversation about being different and what makes each person stand out. This teachers guide can be helpful in both a classroom and at home. The guide complements the book by using Rosie’s story to build empathy, improve perspective taking and become more in touch with your own feelings about yourself. The vocabulary section is wonderful because it helps educate children about key words to the story such as Alopecia, curious, snicker, etc.
My Hair Went on Vacation
affiliate link in post
Coming Up Rosies
Coming Up Rosies mission is to restore confidence, happiness and pride to anyone struggling with low self-esteem during their medical journey, especially bald children. Their vision is a world where every child goes to sleep proud of their differences.
This wonderful organization donates Smile Kits inclusive of paints, brushes and canvases to children’s hospitals and charity organizations around the world. Children can paint and customize their very own head scarves, neck scarves and superhero capes. Each Smile Kit provides a child an outlet of creativity, and the ability to wear their masterpiece with a smile.
To learn more about Coming Up Rosies, check out their website here.
To learn more about Rosie, watch the video below.
Paula and Rosie Quinn
Paula Quinn is the Co Founder of Coming Up Rosies, a Chicago based non profit inspired by her daughter, Rosie’s dream to help “kids who look like me and to make the bald kids smile.” Rosie convinced Paula to leave her 10 year People Operations career at Google to provide the opportunity for bald children to create their own head scarf, neck scarf or superhero cape to wear with pride. Since 2016, Coming Up Rosies has donated over 1,600 Smile Kits to hospitals and charity organizations around the world. Each kit provides a child an outlet of creativity, and the ability to wear their masterpiece with a smile.
Paula works best juggling many hats so in addition to running Coming Up Rosies, she’s the Head of People at TechNexus Venture Collaborative, a Chicago based joint venture technology firm.
Prior to Google, Paula taught preschool at the Bing Nursery School, a laboratory school for Stanford University’s Department of Psychology. Paula, a California native, holds a BS in Human Development from University of California Davis, and an MA in Early Childhood Education from CSU Sacramento.
Paula lives in Chicago, with her husband Larry, daughters Rosie and Caroline and their Bernadoodle, Enzo. In her free time, Paula enjoys spending time with her family, being a Legislative Liaison for the National Alopecia Foundation, cooking Italian dishes with her girls, running, impromptu dance parties, and doing jigsaw puzzles during the cold Chicago winters.
