“One nap of her hair is the only perfect circle in nature.”

Or so says Carolivia Herron, author of the controversial children’s book “Nappy Hair.” Herron will be speaking about her book tonight at 8 in the Sun Room of Memorial Union.

“Nappy Hair” drew national attention last year when a first-year teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y., came under fire for reading the book to her class of African-American and Hispanic third-graders.

According to a copyrighted article by The Associated Press, Ruth Sherman, 27, transferred from Public School 75 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, after being threatened by parents who said the book was insensitive.

“They felt that she was teaching the kids something racist, but many of them had not read the book,” said Rita Marinko, associate professor at Parks Library. “The teacher was trying to read the book as a celebration of their ethnicity.”

“Nappy Hair” is now required reading for grades three through five at Public School 75.

Herron’s speech is in conjunction with Banned Books Week, said Pat Miller, coordinator of the lectures program. The week runs until Saturday.

“The reason she was selected as a banned book speaker is because of the misunderstanding surrounding the book,” Miller said. “[She is] an African-American writer using a term which some people think is negative.”

Marinko agreed that the title of the book has been misconstrued by some as being derogatory.

“[‘Nappy hair’] was seen by some as a racially charged term, but that was not the author’s intent,” she said.

Carol Elbert, youth services coordinator for Ames Public Library, said she thinks Herron’s speech is a good edition to Banned Books week.

“I think that it will be a very interesting discussion. The book is a delightful story, [and] the illustrations are fun and appealing,” she said. “There’s lot of action; there’s a nice rhythm to the story.”

Elbert said she thought the controversy surrounding “Nappy Hair” was intriguing.

“It’s interesting to consider how different people respond to materials that they’re uncomfortable with or if they’re uncomfortable with the way the material is presented,” she said.

Elbert said the book is very appropriate for children.

“The story is very much a celebration of this child,” she said. “It’s a story that is filled with love for this child.”

The ISU minority theatre workshop will be doing a reading of “Nappy Hair” to start the evening. Admission is free.