No Haircut Today! [Hardcover]

Elivia Savadier (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

Here's a book about a problem EVERY parent can relate to -- and one that's right on the money. In a simple, beguiling way Elivia Savadier captures the trials and tribulations leading up to a child's first haircut. The reader is first introduced to Dominic's hair -- some of it curly, some straight, but no matter what shape it's in, Dominic has no intention of having it cut. His mother is beside herself but when Dominic sees that she's upset, a change of heart may be in the offing...

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K–A touching and playful story about a little boy's fear of getting his hair cut for the first time, and his mom's frustration at having tried everything. Dominic's hair is a mess–short in some spots, long in others, curly here, straight there. His mom cuts and styles hair and makes other people look great, but "When Dominic sees SCISSORS he screams!" The contrast of a minimum amount of rich color centered on a bright white page captures the drama of this time-honored, coming-of-age problem, while the varying sizes of the fonts emphasize the intensity of the fear and frustration felt by Dominic and his mother. When he asks, "MOMMY! Are you mad at me?" (looking a lot like Linus from Peanuts), they hug, say I love you to one another, and laugh. "No haircut today!...Maybe...tomorrow." Great fun for a read-aloud, and good sharing one-on-one.– Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, AL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-K. Savadier's first solo picture book, like titles in David Shannon's David series, invites children to get acquainted with a willful but irresistible toddler. Dominic refuses to get a haircut, preferring to leave his scribbly mane just as it appears in his front- and side-view mug shots: "LONG in some spots and SHORT in other spots," curly in places and straight in others. Typical barbershop inducements are useless; a haircut in a chair shaped like a car still involves scary scissors, and Dominic's response is "NO!" Savadier serves up text as distilled and spot-on as her pen-and-watercolor illustrations, fluidly sketched on plain white backgrounds and evocative of Jules Feiffer's abbreviated style. The concluding hug from Mother (and indefinite postponement of the dreaded cut) will reassure young ones nursing their own irrational but nonetheless overwhelming fears. Savadier's splotchy rendering of skin tones is occasionally distracting, especially in close-ups, but the humorous depiction of a familiar situation will win hearty laughs from both parents and children. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; First Edition edition (April 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159643046X
• ISBN-13: 978-1596430464
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A difference of opinion to HAIR SCARE review, April 19, 2006

By 

mom (U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Haircut Today! (Hardcover)

I disagree that NO HAIRCUT is "unfocused" or "lacks depth" as another reviewer thought. That reviewer seems unsetteld because "no solution is offered" and seems to miss the point that an important nurturing and caretaking solution is offered.
The solution being to meet your child where he is in his deveopmental fears and challenges, and to offer a safe haven first and foremost.( a haven of love, of humor, of compassion). The solution is to create a solid safe base so that the child can begin to feel secure enough inside himself to move beyond his fears and resistances. That is not done by a rigid "solution" but by trusting that you as parent are initiating a process. For me the pictures, rather than lacking depth and style, showed all the raw emotion that only this loosely penned style can accomplish.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very cute! A little life lesson for kids and their parents, January 27, 2006

By 

A reviewer "A reader" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Haircut Today! (Hardcover)

As a parent, sometimes I get so tired of the perfect parents and kids in children's books. Don't you? Well, No Haircut Today! is a funny story with adorable pictures that's much more realistic about the day-to-day relationship between parent and child. It has a lot to say, in a very sweet and approachable way, about love, family, and compromise. Great for younger kids and their parents, too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A charming and memorable storybook for beginning readers, September 12, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Haircut Today! (Hardcover)

Recommended for children ages 2 to 6, No Haircut Today! is an entertainingly written and illustrated picturebook by Elivia Savadier, and tells the warm and charming story of a young, scraggly-haired boy who does not like to get his hair cut. When Dominic sees scissors, he screams! His mother is very upset. But she loves him, and even if he does not get a haircut today, he just might tomorrow! The simple story and the striking, free-form illustrations make No Haircut Today! a charming and memorable storybook for beginning readers.