I’m a little ashamed to admit that the man’s work is entirely new to me. You might be familiar with his Ruby and the Booker Boys series or his middle school book We Could Be Brothers. Lin-Manuel Miranda couldn’t do it better. I mean, I don’t even know who to really compare author Derrick Barnes to with this book. Imagine if Muhammad Ali were to write a picture book but instead of using his verbal linguistics on his own magnificence he turned those words towards the child reader.

And when all is said and done and the barber has been tipped, he steps outside feeling “Magnificent. He imagines who he’ll be in his own life. Sitting next to men getting their own hair done, he imagines who they are in their own lives. All the people in the shop applauding him when it’s done. The cape, the cool shaving cream on the forehead, and the flawless line that “frames your swagger.” The kid imagines everything that’ll happen to him with this haircut. From the minute a young black kid enters the barbershop by himself he finds himself given the full treatment. But when my man is done with you, they’ll want to post you up in a museum! That my word.” But not the only word on the matter. “You come in as a lump of clay, a blank canvas, a slab of marble. This is a book that desperately needs to be on every library and bookstore shelf in the country. James were, but if this is the kind of firepower they’re capable of then they better have a lot more ammo in their arsenal. I didn’t initially know who author Derrick Barnes or illustrator Gordon C. This is a friggin’ pamphlet on how to seize onto what makes you feel good about yourself and use it to guide your life. So I opened that darn book and instead what I got was this electric jolt of vitality, pride, strut, and joie de vivre. I knew that there was a good chance that I’d open the book and find so-so art, good intentions, and underwhelming writing. Now sure, the cover of Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut looked awesome, but this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo. Problem solved! In fact, so many publishers do this (or turn the image into a poster/bookmark/tote bag) that the people that work regularly in the field of children’s literature get a little jaded. So really, all you have to do is to take the most interesting image in your book and put it on the cover. At the same time, you know how many people purchase books based on book covers alone. Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a picture book on your hands that’s mediocre in some way. They know just how to lure in an unsuspecting reader.

A Denene Millner Book, Bolden (an imprint of Agate)ĭo you ever find yourself wondering if a book is too good to be true? Publishers are sneaky little devils.

Crown by Derrick Barnes