Book Review: No Way to Haircut Day by Flo Barnett, Derek Bacon

No Way to Haircut Day is a picturebook written by Flo Barnett and illustrated by Derek Bacon. As of now the book is only available in e-book format. The book is, as you mty have guessed, about a young boy that does not want to get his hair cut. He does everything possible to avoid the inevitable, arguing, screaming, crying, moving in the chair, and so on, but his parents step in and the deed is done. No Way to Haircut Day! is the first book in Flo Barnett's "Grammy's Gang" series.

No Way to Haircut Day is a cute book in rhyming verse about one boy with the haircut blues. The initial wording made me think that he puts up the same stink every time he gets a haircut, but that might have been my interpretation. As a lucky mom, my son has always done really well at haircut time and my daughter gets jealous that I do not let her locks get cut quite as often, so I have never faced the difficulty the parents of the story face. However, I think the resolution of the boy liking his haircut and getting a lollipop when everything is done might help other reluctant hair cut recipients relax and perhaps be a little more willing to get a trim. However, if my kids made that big of a fuss and I had to hold them still for their haircut (like what happens in the story) they would not be getting a reward. While I was not thrilled with that portion of the story, my real problem with the book is the format. I read it on my Kindle Fire, and the font was tiny an d therefore hard to read. I also like to read physical books with my children much more than e-books, so I was disappointed there.

I would recommend No Way to Haircut Day to families that have one of more children reluctant to get hair cuts. The story gives a bit of 'it is going to happen anyway', a little, 'its not so bad', and a bonus 'you might get a treat' that might be necessary to get the most unenthusiastic kiddos on board.