George Ford (1)

(10 stars for George Ford's illustrations!)

In rhymed verse, Grimes tells the story about how a little girl thinks of every Monday morning. She hates getting her hair brushed out because it hurts her, but she loves how pretty the braids look when her mom is finished with it.

I love the way Grimes gives voices and faces to realities that are not commonly seen in children's literature, but she does it appropriately naturally. Grimes doesn't try to teach white people about black hair. She doesn't show more use dialogue that allows for the fetishization of black hair. Grimes simply tells the story about what one little black girl felt about getting her hair brushed out on Mondays, but Grimes doesn't insinuate that all little girls of color have similar Mondays nor similar feelings. show less

It was really hard to find a Black lead easy reader before 2000. But Nikki Grimes has been writing forever and I was pleased to find this book for those beginning readers. The story was about a girl who gets her hair braided weekly and she doesn't want to do it. The story is great and I think it needs to be given new life with new illustrations. These current illustrations feel as dated as they are (1996) and ages a story that is timeless.

Absolutely joyful. Too bad it's dated what with the telephone and the naptime cots. Love the last page, in which the names of the children are revealed and the implication made that these are real kids that the creators of the book knew.

This is great multicultural fiction book about a little girl who does not like getting her wild hair brushed and done on Mondays. She loves it once her mother is finally done and has it braided. This could be a cute book for teaching about outcomes and how sometimes the things we really enjoy, take a little challenge to get through. Funny book.