Bippity Bop Barbershop

by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Overview

In this companion book to the bestselling I Love My Hair, a young boy, Miles, makes his first trip to the barbershop with his father. Like most little boys, he is afraid of the sharp scissors, the buzzing razor, and the prospect of picking a new hairstyle. But with the support of his dad, the barber, and the other men in the barbershop, Miles bravely sits through his first haircut. Written in a reassuring tone with a jazzy beat and illustrated with graceful, realistic watercolors, this book captures an important rite of passage for boys and celebrates African-American identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316033824
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/01/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	223,325
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Natasha Anastasia Tarpley started writing when she was seven years old, and from that young age she understood that stories could change the world. She is the author of the bestselling picture book I Love My Hair!, Bippity Bop Barbershop, The Me I Choose to Be, and the Keyana series. Natasha is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and is the cofounder of Voonderbar! Media, a project seeking to expand the depictions of children of color in media. She lives with her family in Chicago, Illinois.

Editorial Reviews

"The light-dappled watercolor paintings give the scenes a real sense of place while bringing the characters to life through a sensitive depiction of expressions, gestures, and body language. A child-centered story, well paced and beautifully illustrated." -Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

What Natasha Anastasia Tarpley did for the mother-daughter bond in I Love My Hair! she now does for father and son in Bippity Bop Barbershop, illus. by E.B. Lewis. One full-bleed watercolor spread depicts three generations of men draped in purple barber's capes, each with his own distinguished hairstyle. ( Feb.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 2-Rites of passage in a child's life are appealing subjects for picture books, and that is the case in this tale of a boy's first haircut. Tarpley's I Love My Hair! (Little, Brown, 1998) celebrates the positive self-image and cultural identity of African-American girls, and Bippity Bop does the same for boys. Miles is nervous about visiting the barber for his first "official" haircut; he's afraid that the buzzing clippers will hurt, and he doesn't know what kind of cut to request. The descriptions of Miles trying to be "brave" are labored and unconvincing. Happily, the resolution of his hairstyle dilemma rings true: he selects a cut just like his daddy's. Miles and Dad leave the shop with identical haircuts, sharing high-fives, "two cool cats" walking to the rhythm of a "bippity bop" beat. Lewis's delightfully fluid watercolor illustrations get everything just right. The book is filled with cheerful and loving scenes of home and community, and remarkably expressive portrayals of men going about their business, tending shop, or awaiting their turns in the barber chair. With its depictions of dreadlocks, Afros, and even gleaming bald pates, Bippety Bop adds diversity to the small but growing niche of multicultural books that celebrate hair.-Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Tarpley and Lewis return to the theme of their first collaboration: I Love My Hair (1997). In this case, it is the occasion of a young man's first official haircut. Tarpley is very sharp in catching the moods and rituals of the barbershop. Like the best of such places, this shop has a group of regulars, warm in each other's company, cajoling, exuding camaraderie. Miles, the first-timer, an African-American boy, is in the company of his father, who is one of the regulars. Tarpley works the rite-of-passage angle, but not overly; she understands that the atmospherics are what count: "Jazz music, loud voices, and laughter blend with the buzzzzzzz of clippers and the soft sweesh-sweesh whisper of scissors." All the gents have advised Miles to "be brave," which of course gives him a mild case of the shim-shams when the clippers touch the back of his neck for the first time. But his dad is there to offer some soothing advice and the cut proceeds. Miles exits to a round of high-fives and those cherished words from the barber: "See you next time." There aren't many of these safe harbors left out there in the everyday world, and Tarpley celebrates well their survival. And their steadiness and warmth are equally applauded in Lewis's sure-handed watercolors-Miles is totally adorable-inviting enough to make readers want to go out and get a trim. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews