Cool Cuts

by Mechal Renee Roe

Mechal Renee Roe, illustrator of Vice President Kamala Harris's S uper Heroes Are Everywhere , creates a joyful, positive, read-together book celebrating boys with natural black hair that will have kids everywhere "I am born to be awesome!"

When the stars shine, the w o rld is mine! I am born to be awesome! My hair is free, just like me! I am born to be awesome!

Boys will love seeing strong, happy reflections of themselves in this vibrant, rhythmic book full of hip Black hairstyles. From a 'fro-hawk to mini-twists and crisp cornrows, adorable illustrations of boys with cool curls, waves, and afros grace each page, accompanied by a positive message that will make kids cheer. It's a great read-aloud to promote positive self-esteem to boys of all ages, building and growing the foundation of self-love (and hair love!) and letting every boy know that "You are born to be awesome!"

Look for all the books in the Happy Hair 
• Happy Hair
• I'm Growing Great
• Smart Sisters
• I Am Born to Be Awesome! (Step Into Reading)
• I Love Being Me! (Step Into Reading)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, African American, Cultural, Self Esteem, Storytime, Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

Published February 11, 2020

Reviews

[Alesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book during Family Storytime at work and boys, maybe 2nd - 3rd grade boys, were rocking off of their seats looking for themselves in the boys and/or haircuts. The repeating phrase on every other page had everyone feeling "awesome" by the end of the book!

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Affirmations for Black boys and their natural hair choices. From the creator of Happy Hair.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stepping into Barnes & Noble, I found myself interested in this book, each page will reveal a very unique hairstyle. 😎

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book showcases various types of hair, celebrating the beauty of every hairstyle. The central theme is about appreciating Black boys' hair. Young Black boys often don’t see themselves represented in literature, and it’s crucial to promote positive self-esteem and self-love. The book is suitable for students in pre-kindergarten through first grade. I would use it to foster inclusivity in my classroom. I plan to read the book aloud and encourage students to share what hairstyles they have and to draw their favorite hairstyles.

[Abby Johnson]

This affirming picture book celebrates African American boys with a variety of skin tones and hairstyles, assuring each one that he is "born to be AWESOME". Hand this to families looking for positive messages to empower their children.

[Austin Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while waiting to get my haircut. It was a good read to prepare me to get my haircut. It shows a lot of different hairstyles. If you are looking for a quick read while waiting to get your haircut I highly recommend.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome hair cuts! A book of simple words; great for an early reader.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this picture book which illustrated all different types of hairstyles for young black boys. Each type and picture was accompanied by a phrase that looked like it was written on a sheet of notebook paper, which I thought was a nice touch. However, the phrases themselves I thought have already been over-used and a bit corny.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool Cuts by Mechal Renee Roe. PICTURE BOOK. Doubleday (Random), 2020. $17. 9781984895578

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K – ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Roe continues her exuberant look at Black hair complete with affirmations of awesome-ness.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of positive picture books about hair recently, and I'm glad to add self-love for boys into the mix! This would be a good storytime pairing with Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom by John Rocco.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool Cuts celebrates African-American hairstyles for men. Boldly illustrated with minimal rhymed verses and the repeated phrase "I am born to be awesome," Cool Cuts will be a nice addition to diversify a classroom collection.

[Ashley Dumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Published February 2020
My favorite part of the book was the entire book. I have never read a book that celebrates boys' natural black hair. This will definitely be used in my classroom to help children understand and admire different hair types, styles, and textures. 10/10

[supityob · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨Best night 😌 ever 💙💙

[Christy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't recall ever getting to celebrate a kids book that uplifted black and brown skinned boys' hairstyles before. I love that this book exists. The dozen styles of haircuts and dress and appearance of kids in this book, done in a style that reminded me of the bold colors and shapes of construction paper cut outs from elementary school, are tied together with lined, notebook looking pages that repeat the phrase, "I am born to be awesome". The joy of seeing each smiling boy expressing positive, affirming statements about themselves and their hair (My hair is free, just like me; Cooler than most, try not to boast) is a refreshing change of pace from cookie cutter depictions of black children. This isn't a story so much as a book affirming identity, appearance, strength and courage to be oneself. Seeing oneself matters. Seeing a diversity of people matters. This book matters.

(repeated phrase from my review of The Ring Bearer: I found this picture book in an article that a Facebook friend recommended on 30 Children's Books featuring black male protagonists (you can read the article here: http://bit.ly/2Wd3X9s). So...you'll be seeing quite a few picture book reviews from me for a while, even though I have no children of my own, but have a strong love for children's literature and picture books in general and like to keep abreast of what new books are on the market for children (to buy for presents, to use in education or religious settings or just to enjoy on my own). When I find books that also broaden the predominant norms and depict characters from a diverse array of racial, ability, gender, religious and ethnic settings (to name just a few traits), all the better.)

[Karly Grice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me smile at how far we've come in 20 years. When I was in my first children's lit class as a college undergrad, the only book available on a mass publication scale was Carolivia Herron's Nappy Hair; while Herron's writing is beautifully infused with call and response and oral storytelling and Joe Cepeda's accompanying illustrations are lovely, there was just too much possibility of misappropriation by non-Black readers of a term that Herron was trying to take back and empower. Flash forward to my being a college professor of children's literature myself (HOW!?) and there are now so many beautiful, Black-centered and youth empowering books about hair that don't have the pitfalls of that earlier text.

In addition to seeing the variety of Black hair styles, you see various shades of skin tones and the peaceful, pleased, and confident faces of Black boys accompanied by the refrain of the book "I am born to be awesome!" The latter makes the book feel like a wonderful practice in aspirational positive self talk, making it a book that parents can read with their kids as a confidence boost before big events or just an everyday reminder of their awesomeness.

(Note: I tagged it as an early reader, not because it's officially marketed as such but because the simplicity of the word choices and short, repetitive sentences would give young people/early readers confidence as they read.)

[Christina Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool Cuts features images of boys who are "born to be awesome," rocking their haircuts and styles in a variety of distinctive ways. From perfect parts and low waves, to crisp cornrows and fro-hawks, these boys each have a style all their own and they wear them with pride. They are boys who are cool and clever, goal-getters, and trend-setters. They can do anything!

Mechal Renee Roe gives the reader a joyful dose of positive self-imagery. It's really nice to see little Black boys represented this way, because really, how often do you see main characters with high-tops, cornrows, locks, and twists? Our hair can be styled so many ways with a creativity that knows no bounds and that's exactly what Cool Cuts celebrates.

This is the second book of Mechal Renee Roe's that I read. She is also both the author and illustrator of Happy Hair (2014). I bought two copies and gifted them to my nieces. They LOVED it!

Cool Cuts is recommended for ages 3-7 and if you read Happy Hair, I think you will also enjoy this one. I hope to see more from Mechal Renee Roe her writing, her art, and maybe even more animated shorts.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As she did with the previous book, Happy Hair, intended to celebrate the many ways that African-American girls can wear their hair, the author provides twelve different hairstyles for boys. The images show boys proudly showing off their locks and celebrating their own awesomeness. This is one of those picture books that sparkles with empowerment. It will surely help young boys feel good about themselves and the way they look since hair can be such a neat way to express oneself. This one might be a good companion book to Ode to the Fresh Cut, which also honors hair as self-expression and the barber shop as a place to congregate and build community.

[Erin Engebreth]

Such a cute story with beautiful illustrations. On one half of the page, it has inspiration expressions that all the different kids say. On the other half of the of the page there is a picture of a child with an awesome hair do that shows how all different hair is awesome. They have attached to the second page as well as the names of the different hair styles. If I were to teach this book in a classroom, I would have students pair off and read the book together. Each group would be assigned a particular page and we would go around as a class and when it’s your turn to go, the duo will read the quote as well as excitedly say the hair do’s name.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A companion book to the author’s book for girls, Happy Hair, this feel-good book celebrates hair styles of African American boys. A rhyming couplet in each opening is a happy statement of feeling good about one’s hair, ending with the repeated “I am born to be awesome!” Each opening shows a kid and his cut, with the name of the cut. Kids of many variations of brown are depicted. The simple digital art has a sweetness about it. I don’t know if it was the author’s intention, but some of the faces could be any gender, which I like as a nod to kids who are gender nonconforming.

[Grace McCrery]

This book does a really good job at showing students different types of hair that children can have. Some students feel embarrassed by their hair and this book encourages students to be different. There is not much of a story but the words on each page go along well with the pictures. I think this book would be a good tool to allow students to read the page that they think fits themselves and their hairstyle.

[Darlena Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am impressed with the message of this book and the poetic affirmations. I would have rated it a 5 except I am not impressed that every face is the same, just a different color and glasses sometimes. That is kind of counter-productive to the presentation of different males having different hair, but all have the same face. Not saying it is right or wrong, that just struck me as an unrealistic representation.

[Jenn Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5 because I do have some complaints but worth rounding up.
It's a colorful book with fun pictures that I think will resonant with a lot of kids/families.
I hated the font though. The all caps part can be a little hard to read, esp from the side or upside at storytime. Below that, I didn't appreciate the uncapitalized i and I don't care if that's petty.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Age: Toddler-Kindergarten
Body: Hair
Identity, author: African American

Black boy joy on every page that pairs 12 hairstyles with uplifting words, various skin tones, and clothing styles. The uniformity of the images and the popping colors create an excellent read-aloud and an enjoyable lapsit for younger audiences.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids will have fun reading and seeing the sharp hairdos in this cute sturdy book. Inspirational sayings on one page and a cool hairstyle on the next page is perfect for beginner readers. Colorful images show mini-twists, fro-hawks, cornrows and stunning waves. Parents and caregivers can discuss with kids’ self-esteem, hair care, being confident and how to be cool.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter what the hair style (like ‘Fro-Hawk, Lively Locs, Mini-twists, Dope Design and more), each child has the confidence to be themselves. “My hair is free, just like me!”

The repeating text on every page, “I am born to be awesome!” gives this real aloud the element of participation. There is also a companion book for girls called Happy Hair.

[Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am born to be awesome.

Something I want Jeremiah to always know, and which he then told everything in the house after we finished the book.

He even told the dancing Groot toy that was sitting near him to be quiet while we were reading, because "I know, I'm born to be awesome."

Also, he LOVED the different hair styles.

Except corn rows. He's not interested in those.

[Abby Pandina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has an average of 3.84 stars, the copyright date is 2020, and the major themes include self love and haircuts. I really enjoyed the celebration of African American hair in this story and all the cool haircuts the main character dons. I would use this book as a read aloud in my classroom, having my students say "I am awesome" with me as I read, in order to build their confidence.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positive and uplifting descriptions of a variety of haircuts for Black boys. Illustrations are bright and joyous also.

Would recommend for kids who love hair and different hairstyles. It would also work for kids who are wondering what haircut to get on their next visit to the barbershop / hair stylist.

[librarian4Him02 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why I picked it up: It was featured in a new picture books newsletter put out by the library where I used to work.

Why I kept reading: It contains a positive message aimed at boys, especially boys of color.

In the end: I loved the illustrations and the message of the book

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but awesome. You are born to be awesome. I love all the different hair cuts and the diverse kiddos found in this book. I love the positive affirmations. It'd make a great gift for a little boy.