A picture book story for 2nd and 3rd grade readers.Ĭrown an Ode to the Fresh Cut celebrates the experiences of what it means to get a “Fresh Cut” in the barber shop.

How to Read Crown an Ode to the Fresh Cut, a modern-day story about a black boy getting a hair cut.

Visit the Library of Congress website and search in the subject heading “Barbershops” for hundreds of more images capturing barbershops and their role in society. Negro barbershop on U Street, N.W.” Photograph: Library of Congress

How is what you see in the photograph similar or different from your own haircut experiences?.

What connections can you make between what happened in the story and what is happening in the photograph?.

Discuss comparisons from not only the image and the story but also students’ own experiences with getting their hair cut. For this primary source pairing, invite students to analyze an image of a barber shop in Washington D.C. The story is just as the title implies, an ode, a celebration for a new haircut. He remembers being treated like royalty and leaving looking like a million bucks. In the Author’s Note, Derrick Barnes writes of the empowering feeling that he got when he was a young boy getting his hair cut.

That’s where it all begins.Ĭrown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut is a high-spirited, engaging salute to the beautiful, raw, assured humanity of black boys and how they see themselves when they approve of their reflections in the mirror. This rhythmic, read-aloud title is an unbridled celebration of the self-esteem, confidence, and swagger boys feel when they leave the barber’s chair–a tradition that places on their heads a figurative crown, beaming with jewels, that confirms their brilliance and worth and helps them not only love and accept themselves but also take a giant step toward caring how they present themselves to the world. That crisp yet subtle line makes boys sharper, more visible, more aware of every great thing that could happen to them when they look good: lesser grades turn into As girls take notice even a mother’s hug gets a little tighter. Boys go in as lumps of clay and, with princely robes draped around their shoulders, a dab of cool shaving cream on their foreheads, and a slow, steady cut, they become royalty. The barbershop is where the magic happens.

Written by Derrick Barnes, Illustrated by Gordon C.

Ode to the fresh cut