My Fade Is Fresh
“Yesterday at ten o’clock, / I walked into the barbershop. / My bushy, brownish, biggish hair / was growing almost everywhere.” The young Black girl at the center of this rollicking story knows exactly what kind of haircut she wants: “The freshest fade up on the block!” Unfortunately her mom doesn’t listen, pondering other ideas with the stylist. Soon almost everyone in the salon, from other stylists to customers, begins to weigh in, their suggestions often mirroring their own hairstyles. More than two hours in, the girl still doesn’t have the fade she envisions, but the cut is getting closer to what she wants and her frustration shifts to anticipation. That’s when everyone begins making suggestions for what she might get shaved into the side. “A rocket ship?”/ “A turbojet?” / “The whole entire alphabet!”/ “A treasure map with squiggly lines?” / “My word! / Just please make up your minds!” begs the now frazzled stylist. The girl, for her part, remains calm and emerges triumphant with “[t]he freshest fade up on the block.” The rhyming text, principally dialogue, is a delight to read, although matching the speaker to the various individuals in the bright, busy illustrations, which deftly chronicle the girls’ shifting feelings, takes a little effort the first time through. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Kitt Thomas
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Affirmation
African Americans
Community
Humor
Stories in Rhyme
Diversity subject:
Black/African
Publishers:
Penguin Random House, Penguin Workshop
Publish Year: 2022
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780593387085
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Grant