One of the best reads for young black boys in years, it should be in every library, media center, and, yes, barbershop.
This book oozes black cool and timely, much-needed black joy, using the unique and expansive experience of the barbershop to remind young boys that their inner lives have always mattered there. James’ oil-based portraiture will send many readers reminiscing. It will have you looking “presidential,” “majestic.” Like you own “a couple of acres of land on Saturn.” The swagger is on a million. Barnes’ imaginative prose mirrors the hyperbole and swagger of the barbershop.
The light shape-up surrounded by cornrows and locs. The all-important line and the diverse styles take center stage here. You feel so extra visible with a fresh new cut, and this book built from that experience translates it in a way never before brought to the children’s bookshelf.īasquiat-inspired king insignias and a bit of Kehinde Wiley flair shape portraits of all the various ways men (and women too!) come into the black barbershop to restore their cool, leaving the chair with high self-esteem, self-pride, and confidence-if only for as long as their hairlines remain crisp. Their worth confirmed and validated.Ĭrown was first published in the US in 2017 and since then it has amassed many prestigious awards such as the Newberry Honor, Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator honors and more.Safe to say, there’s nothing like the feeling of the fresh cut. When they leave the barber’s chair, our boys walk with their heads held high. Boys go in, and with their fresh cut, they are moulded into the best version of themselves. Sitting in the barber’s chair is a transformative experience. James is a fast paced, lively picture book that really is something special.īefore reading Crown, you think you’re about to read a book about getting a haircut but it’s actually about the self-esteem and confidence a haircut can give you, especially a Black boy. That’s the gold medal you.”ĬROWN: AN ODE TO THE FRESH CUT written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. “And we you see the cut yourself, in that handheld mirror, you’ll smile a really big smile.
0 kommentar(er)
