When J.D.’s mom cuts his hair, it does not work out. He decides to fix it. He starts by cutting his brother’s hair, then his own. He quickly moves on to cutting hair for his friends – and making money at it. When the local barber tries to make him stop, he challenges him to a barber battle. A fun story about a determined young entrepreneur. Friendship, money, and math! And the illustrations are wonderful! This would make a great classroom read-aloud!

A tragic trim by his mom inspires J.D. to turn his own steady hands toward clipping hair, but when business booms, the town’s official barbershop sets its sights on shutting J.D. down. With family support, humor, and respect for hair culture, this illustrated early chapter book kicks off a new series about an entrepreneurial southern charmer. Should be a great fit for 6-9 year-olds.

All in all, J.D. and the Great Barber Battle is a great read for young, elementary school kids who are able to read chapter books. It is well-written and easy to follow. J. Dillard did an amazing job of capturing the personality of J.D. and making him feel real. I also must mention the artist who brought J.D. to life on the page. Akeem S. Roberts is the Brooklyn-based illustrator who did the job of bringing J.D., his family and friends, and world to life. I love that level of cartoon quality to his artwork that felt like the best compliment to J. Dillard’s writing. I think some of my favorite illustrations were J.D cutting his little brother’s hair in the bathroom, seeing the finished product of J.D. cutting his best friend Jordan’s hair for the first time, a small one that shows J.D. on his way to the competition, and, of course, the final illustration from the competition.

I highly recommend that you get this book for some young Black child in your family, or just buy it and donate it to a library. Get more books like this out there for Black kids!

This was a heart-warming middle grade novel that is sure to be a hit with upper elementary students. J.D. is nervous about starting third grade. Especially after his mother trims his hair and does a horrible job. After testing out his barber skills on his younger brother, he fixes his own hair. Soon, others are wanting J.D. .to use his newfound talent on their hair and the Great Barber Battle ensues.

This book reminded a lot of Andrew Clements style of writing. The illustrations are a nice addition to the story. I can't wait to read the sequel. This book would be perfect for students in 2nd-4th grades who are independent readers. It would also make a great read aloud.

This is probably one of the best children's chapter books I've read in a while. It was so dang good. 4.5 Stars. I was provided a copy of the book for review. All thoughts are my own.

J.D. and the Great Barber Battle is the first in a new children's book series that focuses on main character J.D. has he tries to navigate a horrible haircut that his mother gives him before the first day of school. Instead of continuing to allow the kids at school to make fun of him, J.D. decides to take things into his own hands. The results are pretty interesting and J.D. finds himself in a barber battle of the ages. This is a wonderful book that focuses on the positive aspects of Black hair culture, friendship, and family.

This is definitely a book that needs to get into the hands of so many young readers. Hair culture is extremely important to the Black community and seeing a Black boy talk about the importance not only of his haircut, but the interesting aspects of the inner world of barbershop culture is something that I haven't seen before in a chapter book. J Dillard discusses these things with such positivity and reverence that I can only imagine how many young children will pick this book up and feel seen or feel a special connection to the characters. There is great representation of family and supportive family structure. I personally related to the strong connection between grandparents and grandchildren. Honestly, this book has a little something for everyone in every age group. And it is HILARIOUS. I knew that there was a possibility that J.D. was going to get into some crazy things, but I didn't think that it was going to make me laugh out loud. The illustrations are a wonderful addition to the narrative and really pull the entire story together.

Keep in mind that the target audience for this book is children probably in between 2nd - 4th grade so if you're an adult reader some aspects of it may seem unrealistic especially in relation to the barber battle; however, it's great fun for kids and I think that they will really enjoy it considering it is intended for them. Overall, this was a great start to the series. I saw that a new book in the series is coming out later this year and I'm extremely excited to read it.

J.D. is embarrassed to go to 3rd grade with a bad haircut his mom gave him. But he unexpectedly turns this disappointment into a success; he learns to cut hair! A fun story with a developed and supportive family. The humor and good spirits extend to a barber contest and lots of plot bits can be followed in future stories. Just enough suspense to keep my kids reading, thanks for this urban story for boys.

I received an electronic ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group through NetGalley.
Dillard gives mid to upper elementary readers a new character to relate with. J.D. is an average kid living with multiple generations of his family. The night before third grade, his mom cuts his hair. It's a disaster that he makes worse by using some of her product the next week. Then he decides to cut his own hair. After practicing on his younger brother, he does his own and discovers he has a talent for it. To earn his own money, he starts cutting his friends' hair. His business grows from there and he challenges the only barber in town to a competition to keep from getting shut down by the Health Department. He wins and then goes to work for the barber shop officially.
Plenty of humor and relatable life incidences for this reading level. Dillard captures this age and brings the readers in as part of the story. Looking forward to more of J.D.'s adventures.

**Spoiler alert**

J.D. is nervous about starting third grade, especially when his mother trims his hair and doesn't do a great job of it. He's afraid he will get teased, since most of the other kids at his school go to the local barber shop in his town of Meridian, Mississippi, or have a more talented family member do their hair, and he's right. Determined to make things better, he gets his hands on his mother's trimmer. He wisely decides to test his skills on his younger brother first, and when that hair cut goes well, he does his own hair. His mother doesn't get angry, and people at school envy his new do. He starts a small business cutting hair for $3, and soon has quite the clientele. J.D. thinks of all of the ways he can spend his new found wealth. He's able to hide this activity from his mother, since she is very busy working on her MBA, and his sister Vanessa is off running track. Henry, Jr., the owner of the barber shop, stops by the house to warn J.D. off, but he doesn't take it seriously until an inspector arrives from the health department and shuts J.D. down. To try to get his business back, J.D. challenges Henry, Jr. to a barber battle. If Henry wins, J.D. will stop cutting hair, but if J.D. wins, Henry will leave him alone. Henry agrees to this, and soon the competition is set, with another local salon owner helping to organize and judge. **Spoiler alert** Not surprisingly, J.D. wins, and starts charging $5 per cut. His business increases so much that Henry's business is affected (even though previously, he had been so busy that the boys had to wait for a long time to get in.). Since one of the reasons the boys favor J.D.'s cuts is that Henry only knows three styles, Henry eventually comes and asks J.D. to come to work for him. J.D. must pay to rent the chair in the barber shop, but does the math to realize that he will still make more money than he would working from home. Things are really looking up for J.D. until he gets home to realize that his sister Vanessa has taken over his room to style hair for HER friends, which could certainly set the stage for an interesting sequel.
Strengths: This was a fun story about a boy who had a passion for something and worked to make his dreams a reality. The author is a "barberpreneur" who brings a vast array of details about cutting and styling hair to vivid reality on the page (I did NOT know that sometimes shaved designs are highlighted with colored pencils! The pencils I use for quilting designs are the water color type, so if I get really bored...) J.D. is surrounded by a supportive family and good friends, and has realistically difficult interactions with some of the people at school. Young readers always like to see kids best grown ups, and J.D. certainly triumphs over Henry, Jr., and in doing so, gets better barber service for his town. The accompanying illustrations are attractive and make some of the descriptions in the text easier to understand. There's a lot of humor in this book, and a much needed up beat tone. I was very glad to see that this is set to be available at Target, since it is a great choice for an early chapter book and deserves a wide readership.
Weaknesses: While younger readers won't know or care, the battle and J.D.'s home business as well as his job at the barber shop are very unrealistic. There are concerns about health and safety regulations that can't just be ignored because J.D. wins the battle, and there are child labor laws that would most likely preclude him working for Henry in the barber shop. This won't detract from the story for most readers, but it bothered me.
What I really think: This is a must purchase for elementary school libraries and might work well for less enthusiastic readers in middle school who are very concerned with hair and fashion. Since I always trimmed my own children's hair on the porch and haven't had a professional cut since October 2019, I didn't quite understand the obsession, but found the book to be an engaging read.

J.D.’s mother gives him a disastrous haircut the night before the first day of school. He tolerates the teasing from his schoolmates for a few days, but J.D. eventually resolves to correct the problem himself. Turns out he’s really good at this haircutting thing! Other kids want him to cut their hair, and J.D. is soon earning extra pocket money cutting hair in his bedroom.The proprietor of the only licensed barber shop in town tries several ideas to get J.D. to stop undercutting his business. Find out how it all comes to a head in a style-off, and what J.D. learns about looking at the other person’s point of view.

This accessible story for young readers is the first in a new series. With large print, short chapters, and black-and-white illustrations, this book introduces us to a family and a community within its 132 pages.
J.D.'s humiliation over a bad home haircut leads him to cut his own hair. Ridicule turns to admiration, and J.D. quickly discovers that he has a talent for creating hi-top fades, Caesars, and baldies for a regular stream of kids -- and they will pay him!
When J.D.'s new business threatens the livelihood of the local barber, things begin to get complicated. Will the competition he initiates to prove his talent crown an unexpected clipper king?

Adorable early reader chapter book! With references from Miles Morales to Michael Jordan, it’s sure to be a hit with young readers.