Uncle Jed's Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell

Author: Margaree King Mitchell

Illustrator: James Ransome

Genre: Historical Fiction

Awards: Reading Rainbow Program Selection (1996), A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1994), Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee (1995), Coretta Scott King Honor (Illustrator, 1994), Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee (1996), Shalom Readers Club Book List (Grade 3-5), CCBC Choices (1993), Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (1996), ALA Notable Children's Book (1994), NCTE Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8 (1997), NCTE Adventuring with Books: A Booklist  for Pre-K--Grade 6 (1997)

Grade(s): 1st-5th

Summary: This book is set in the south in the 1920's during the time of segregation. Sarah's uncle, Jed, would go around the county to cut people's hair. He had always dreamed of having his own barbershop one day and he was saving up for it. However, Sarah had gotten really sick and when her parents took her to the hospital, the doctors wouldn't give Sarah the operation that she needed until her parents gave them $300. When Uncle Jed had heard about this, he offered his savings so that Sarah could get her operation. Then he began to save again. No one believed that he would ever get enough money to open his own barbershop. When Uncle Jed had over $3,000 in the bank, his friend had come to give him the bad news that the banks had failed and that he had lost everything. Despite not having anything, he still went and cut peoples' hair even though they couldn't always pay him since there was now a depression. They paid him in other ways with food and crops until they could begin to pay him again. Finally, Uncle Jed saved up enough money and was able to open his barbershop on his seventy-ninth birthday. He had everything he had ever dreamed about and everyone had come to celebrate with him. Uncle Jed had died shortly after that, but he had died a happy man.

My Thoughts: This is another book that I will definitely love to add to my classroom library. I feel that it not only shows the struggles of African Americans during the times of segregation, but it also shows the struggles of all during the time of the depression. This will be a great book to use to teach my students that their dreams and aspirations are important and that just because others don't think you can do it, doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. I can see me using this book in many different ways from teaching a lesson of the times of segregation, to teaching a lesson over the depression, to teaching my students to set goals and always strive to reach them. This book will really be a wonderful addition to my classroom.