Uncle Jed's Barbershop - Hardcover

Mitchell, Margaree King

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671769693 ISBN 13: 9780671769697

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1993

Synopsis

Sarah Jean’s Uncle Jed was the only black barber in the county. He had a kind heart and a warm smile. And he had a dream.

Everyone has a favorite relative. For Sarah Jean, it was her Uncle Jed.

Living in the segregated South of the 1920s, where most people were sharecroppers, Uncle Jed had to travel all over the county to cut his customers’ hair. He lived for the day when he could open his very own barbershop. But it was a long time, and many setbacks—from five-year-old Sarah Jean’s emergency operation to the bank failures of the Great Depression—before the joyful day when Uncle Jed opened his shiny new shop and twirled a now grown-up Sarah Jean around in the barber chair.

With James E. Ransome’s richly colored paintings brimming with life, this is a stirring story of dreams long deferred and finally realized.

About this title

About the Author:

James E. Ransome’s highly acclaimed illustrations for Before She Was Harriet received the 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. His other award-winning titles include the Coretta Scott King winner The Creation; Coretta Scott King Honor Book Uncle Jed’s Barbershop; Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt; and Let My People Go, winner of the NAACP Image Award. He frequently collaborates with his wife, author Lesa Cline-Ransome. One of their recent titles is Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams, which received four starred reviews and was an ALA Notable Children’s Book. James is a professor and coordinator of the MFA Illustration Graduate Program at Syracuse University. He lives in New York’s Hudson River Valley region with his family. Visit James at JamesRansome.com.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 3-Uncle Jed, a black, itinerant barber in the pre-Depression South, dreams of opening his own shop. He saves for years, but first his niece, who narrates the story, needs an operation, and then the bank in which his money is kept fails. The man's spirit never flags, however, and he finally starts his own business at age 79. Sarah Jean, whose life was saved by her uncle's generosity, is by this time a middle-aged adult, and shares in his pleasure. Mitchell's text is eloquent in its simplicity. Straightforward, declarative sentences explain such concepts as segregation and sharecropping without emotional overtones, while her subdued prose makes readers keenly aware of the injustice of segregation. Through Sarah Jean's eyes, readers see both the poverty and discrimination endured and the sense of community and caring shared by her family and friends. Ransome's richly textured oil paintings, uncluttered and direct, beautifully complement the text. These are strong characters captured with forceful brush strokes, yet the illustrations also include such details as a crocheted saddle blanket. Both touching and inspirational, this book is ideal for story hours featuring favorite relatives, and it could start children saving for their own dreams.
Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0671769693
• ISBN 13: 9780671769697
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Ransome James E.