Salon Saturday

PreS-Gr 2–A showcase for the importance of a young Black girl’s first trip to the hair salon. The unnamed narrator opens the book by announcing “Today is the BIG day” with a giant smile and one golden star in her hair as her grandma, momma and sissy (all with various colorful hairstyles) walk with her through city streets and on to a bus to reach the Bubblegum Hair Salon. While on the bus she notices the wide variety of hairstyles on passersby including bobs, buns, coils, ‘fros, locs, puffs, twists, and spirals and muses that each person is uniquely beautiful while wondering “What is my kind of beautiful?” Bright illustrations show even more hairstyles in the salon, where the young girl gets her hair washed and sits under the dryer. One spread displays five close-ups of her head and the steps from “part” to “spritz” until the final reveal where she looks in the mirror to see her new hairstyle with multiple gold stars. While serving as a helpful primer for children to learn about this first experience, the book also celebrates community, family, and self-love.