JORDAN'S PERFECT HAIRCUT

On the eve of picture day, a young Black boy mulls a big decision.

While all the other students have big plans for their hairdos, Jordan isn’t so sure about his own look. He adores his big, soft, cloudlike hair, which “sits on top of [his] head like a crown,” but Grandma, Daddy, and Mama all agree that it might be time for a change. Jordan is reluctant, but Mama is warmly encouraging as the two head to her barbershop, where they meet an assortment of people who vary in gender, complexion, and hairstyle. “I even see my friends from school,” Jordan observes. He contemplates the options (a high top? A cool design shaved into his hair?), but, inspired by seeing the barber giving Mama the perfect cut, Jordan realizes what he wants. With a whisper to the barber, who has a crisply parted flattop, Jordan gets the style of his dreams; Miller builds anticipatory excitement over the next few pages as she eventually reveals Jordan’s look. Now sporting a bow tie, a well-coiffed Afro, and a big grin, Jordan is at last ready for his close-up, alongside a class full of kids with lovely, widely varying ’dos of their own. Illustrations rendered in watercolor and colored pencil with thick black ink outlines on textured paper depict a bright, inviting world where change initially seems daunting but becomes manageable, even rewarding, with the support of friends and family.

A picture-perfect tale of self-love and acceptance.