Haircuts at Sleepy Sam's

Three brothers take a Saturday morning trip to Sam's barber shop in this affable if slim story, narrated by the youngest sibling. Though their mother sends them with a note instructing the barber not to trim her sons' Afro cuts too short on top, the boys--and Sam--have a different style in mind. Strickland, who has compiled several poetry anthologies for children, shapes credible dialogue and gives his narrative a bouncy cadence: awaiting their turn in the barber's chair, the brothers ""watch the men cut hair and talk, cut hair and joke, cut hair and argue, cut hair and laugh, cut hair and boogie to the oldies on the radio."" Holliday's (First by Secondhand) 1970s' palette underscores Mom's old-fashioned ideas and the barbers' banter about boxers Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Rendered with airbrush and pastel chalk, his pictures showcase the animated expressions of the characters with close-to-photographic clarity against faded backgrounds of chartreuse, mauve and beige. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)