Miles is a little dude. He is going get his first haircut at the barbershop. Mr. Seymour is going to cut Miles' hair, just like he has been cutting Miles' daddy's hair since he was a little boy. Miles sees the men playing checkers and watching the basketball game. He hears the jazz music playing and the clippers buzzing. I could almost smell the gulf green and bay rum as the pages turned. This is a barbershop. This is the black man's barbershop. It is one of very few places that black men can congregate in love, peace, and friendship with each other and have the world be at peace with them. It is a place where black men can go and say what they want to, laugh as loud as they want to, or even fuss if they need to without being a danger or a threat. The barbershop is the place that black men go, put down what the world thinks of them, relax, and just be a man( you might get that later). Miles got his first haircut. Daddy introduced Miles to a sanctuary. It's much more than just hair. ( )

Recommended by Teachers College Writing Institute.

Katy has this book.
Connects with I Love My Hair!

I really liked "Bippity Bop Barbershop" because the plot was so simple and yet it still managed to get a message across to the reader. The book starts with a young African American boy named Miles as he wakes up early with his father to go get his first haircut. Father and son make a stop at Mr. J’s coffee shop and Miles’ dad tells Mr. J that Miles is getting his first haircut today, Mr. J excitedly tells Miles to “be brave” as he hands him his chocolate milk. When they arrive at Seymour’s Barbershop and Miles sees Mr. Seymour with his gray hair standing in the window, Miles tells the reader that Mr. Seymour has been his dad’s barber since he was Miles’ age. When they walk inside they are greeted by the men sitting along the wall waiting for their haircuts as well—they all know one another and give him advice for his first time in the chair. Other men are sitting around checker boards and watching sports games on the TV—he watches men with dreadlocks and afros get their haircut until it is his turn. Miles is suddenly very nervous as he chooses the style he wants from a big book Mr. Seymour hands him. Once the clippers are turned on, Miles begins to cry and covers himself with the cape, telling his dad that he wanted to be brave, but he didn’t know how. Miles’ father sits down in the chair next to him and they get their haircuts together, in the same style so that Miles can look just like his dad. This event is so straightforward and elementary when you summarize it: a young boy gets his first haircut—and yet the message and purpose is so important. There are aspects to every culture that are unique and influential; going to the barbershop is one of those aspects of the African American culture. Traditionally, the barbershop can be a place for African American men to gather and converse, even if they aren’t there to get a haircut. It is a place for storytelling, sports watching, bonding, etc.—it is a rite of passage. The message of the picture book is meant for young African American boys to see themselves in Miles and feel excited for their own first haircut—if a child reads books like "Bippity Bop Barbershop", they can gain a sense of pride in their culture and who they are.

This book exudes the loving relationship between a father and his son. As a child, going to the barbershop is somewhat of a big deal. You know you will be surrounded by towering giants, belting swears, and ear bursting laughter, but is that the reason why children are nervous about the barbershop? No. Its the clippers that ultimately generates angst when getting a haircut. Throughout the story, one will see how the father soothes his son's nerves. Being an African American male, it is often stereotyped that our fathers are less than caring or not present at all. This story escapes from those stereotypes, showing that fathers can be larger motivating factors for their sons, even if it is just a haircut. ( )

Bippity, Bop Barbershop is a very good book because it can be used to teach theme. The illustrations are amazing, and its setting is ideal to that of a real-life barbershop. The father-son relationship brings the book to life because father and sons usually do these types of things together. Very nice! ( )