Simon & Schuster | Beach Lane Books
January 2025
32 pages
For ages: 4–8
ISBN: 978-1665940801
Written by Keenan Jones
Illustrated by Ken Daley
It’s Saturday morning. We hop in the car. Mom’s heading to work, and I’m geeked to go spend the day at the ’shop!
The barbershop is a sound booth, an art gallery, a playground, a classroom, and so much more. It’s a place for artistry and comradery and, most importantly, community. Come spend the day feeling all the style and wisdom and joy at the ’shop!
In his bustling picture book debut, Jones pays nuanced homage to barbershops through the eyes of one child “geeked to go spend/ the day at the ’Shop.” On a Saturday morning, the title’s young narrator, a Black child wearing a ball cap, is dropped off as Mom heads to work. … Across the day, reiterative phrases describe how “the ’Shop is our” sound booth, gallery, sports show, comedy club, playground, classroom, and more: “The ’Shop is our mini-mart// Two dollars will get you right;/ five dollars will have you full.” And through it all, the barbershop is “our studio.// Hair is the canvas/ clippers are the brush,/ creating walking pieces of art.”