Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut is a 2017 picture book by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James. The book, Barnes' first picture book, is a poem describing a boy's feelings and experience while getting a haircut. James, who was not the first choice to be the illustrator, wanted the oil color illustrations to have the feel of fine art. Crown was well received, as Barnes received a 2018 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award for his writing, while James received a 2018 Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations. Critics noted the unique setting and the way it celebrated African Americans, especially African American boys.
Plot
Told in the second person, the book describes a young black boy's experience at a barbershop where he gets a haircut.
Conception
Barnes, who had previously written several middle grade chapter books, wrote a poem about a new haircut after seeing a friend's sketch of a teenager. He sold it after being asked if he had any books about the life of a normal African American boy. Being Barnes' first picture book, he gave particular thought about how to divide up his poem across pages. After being rejected by several other illustrators, Barnes, unusually for children's picture books, approached James directly, who he knew, to do the illustrations. Barnes describes their connection as "meant to be", with James noting, "I think the key is that our artistic styles really complement each other." For Barnes, the word fresh might be generally seen as dated but for him had a timeless quality when applied to a haircut in the black community. Barnes reflected on his own feeling of independence and being the "best version of myself" after leaving the barber. Barnes was concerned that in converting the poem to book form it would lose its meaning, as it was spread across the pages of a picture book.
Themes and illustrations
Critics noted the unique subject matter for a 2018 picture book, having a contemporary African American protagonist partake in a setting of importance to African American culture and the way the book could introduce audiences to a variety of haircuts with which they might not have been familiar. Several critics affirmed Barnes' author's note by noting that the barbershop was one of the few institutions, besides the church, which celebrates and honors African American boys. This celebration of the boy helped to reinforce the book's theme of self-confidence and pride. However, it was not just a celebration of boys but all African Americans, even women, as the boy imagines who else is sharing the barbershop with him. The title itself is an allusion to hats African American women will wear to church. This is all underscored by Barnes' "rhythmic" text brimming with cool.
Illustrations
After reading the poem the cover came easily to James who drew inspiration from the attitude of the boy narrator at the end of the book. His goal was to impress and excite people who opened the book and have them feel that they were looking at fine art or even photographs. After doing thumbnail drawings, James painted with oils on illustration board. Barnes' son, Silas, served as the model for the boy in the book while the barber is based on James' son's barber. James' oil color illustrations drew comparisons to that of Basquiat, thanks to the detailed realistic portraits which included a variety of unique and "beautiful" African-American skin tones and hairstyles. The striking cover helped the book stand-out from the first moments according to some critics. Critics noted that James in his illustrations was able balance the reality of getting a haircut with the more ephemeral feelings floating through the boy's imagination.
Reception
The book was well-received. Its starred review in The Horn Book Magazine praised both the illustrations' portrayal of the protagonist and how "Barnes's descriptions make each page a serendipity." Kirkus awarded it a starred review and a 2018 Kirkus Prize for children, saying, "One of the best reads for young black boys in years, it should be in every library, media center, and, yes, barbershop." Additional starred reviews came from Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal.Elizabeth Bird, writing for School Library Journal, noted how "the interchange between the art and the words lights the very pages on fire"; several other critics also praised the complementary nature of the text and illustrations. The book appeared on several best of 2017 lists including those of NPR, Huffington Post, where contributor Minh Le noted its "flawless delivery" in calling it the most charming picture book of 2017, the Los Angeles Times, whose book editor Carolyn Kellog called it, "a real standout... it also does something important" and the Chicago Public Library. Crown was also noted as one of several books with diverse authors and topics which received recognition at the 2018 Youth Media Awards. Crown received four awards, including a Newbery Honor for Barnes, a Caldecott Honor for James, and Coretta Scott King Awards for both. The Caldecott committee praised James' "love-letter to the contemporary barbershop" and the Newbery committee similarly praised Barnes' "joyous paean to... a great haircut". Additionally, the book was recognized by the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, with Barnes its winner for writing and James an honor winner for illustrations. The Keats citation stated, "In a tribute both stylish and timeless, Derrick Barnes’s exuberant text, along with Gordon C. James’s vivid illustrations, celebrate a cultural institution for African-American men and boys: the barber shop."
