Crown: An Ode to a Fresh Cut

Caldecott Medal winner Crown: An Ode to a Fresh Cut is a tribute to black culture and the haircut experience. The illustrations are surreal with a blend of life like caricatures that feels as real as the experience of getting a fresh new cut. The setting is a barbershop where a young boy is about to get his hair cut and explains the experience as a magical trip that transforms one into princely form. A haircut makes one feel proud, confident, and prideful. It makes the girls notice and your mother’s love even stronger. The cadence of the text engages the reader and helps a person understand the cultural importance of the haircut. The experience is shown through the boy’s identification with the other men that are there to get a cut. This is not only a place of transformation of one’s hair, but a way for a young man to identify with his heritage.

Barnes, D. D. (2017). Crown: An ode to the fresh cut. (G. C. James, Illus.) Bolden an Agate Imprint.