Kidliterati was thrilled to interview Alvin Irby, author and founder of Barbershop Books. Read on to learn about this amazing program.
Thanks for talking to
Kidliterati today. We love the Barbershop Book project. Can you tell our
readers a bit about the program?
Barbershop Books is a community based literacy program that
creates child friendly reading spaces in barbershops and provides early
literacy training to barbers. The mission of the program is to help young Black
boys identify as readers by connecting reading to a male centered space and
involving men in boys’ early reading experiences.
Why did you choose
the barbershop setting to connect readers to books?

Barbershops are cultural centers in many communities of
color. A lot of young Black boys go to the barbershop once or twice a month.
Some of the boys see their barbers more than they see their fathers. So, it seemed
natural to leverage the cultural significance of the barbershop and the
relationship barbers have with young Black boys to help boys identify as readers.
What is the goal of
the program?
When you think about Barbershop Books you may think we’re focusing
on kids’ reading skills. But that’s not our focus. Our goal is to cultivate the reading identity
of young Black boys. We want to create a positive reading experience that will inspire
Black boys to say, I’m a reader! We
believe if we can cultivate a positive reading experience boys will want to
read for fun.
Can you share with us
a Barbershop Book success story?
A retired Washington DC teacher heard about us and asked if
we had any Washington D.C. sites. We told her we didn’t have any yet, but
certainly wanted to launch the program in
D.C. at some point. She asked us what needed to be done to get the program started
in her city and we explained that someone would need to identify barbershops
interested in participating and pay for the reading spaces for each location.
Over a two-month period this retired school teacher found and funded five
barbershops in Washington D.C. She also sent us pictures of little boys reading in
the participating barbershops. It was truly amazing. This experience helped me
understand the power of Barbershop Books to inspire civic engagement.
What has been the
program’s biggest challenge?
Our biggest challenge has been capacity building and
securing funding. At last count, we are in 112 barbershops, 28 cities, and 17
states. But we would like to grow and expand. To do that we need funding. We
also need money to maintain book subscriptions for all the barbershops we are
currently in. When someone funds a reading space they get an initial set of
books, but after a year we would like to refresh these books and send new
titles. Securing capital is important to expand into new barbershops as well as
maintain our existing locations.
What’s the most
important thing Barbershop Books needs right now? How can our readers help or
get involved?
Right now, we are looking to expand into twenty target
cities. We need community partners like churches, school districts, and local
nonprofits to assist with the identification and outreach to barbers. Lots of
people in these challenging times want to make a difference for children who
need it most. Barbershop Books definitely provides an important opportunity for
civic engagement.
You can also sponsor a space in a local barbershop. If you
purchase a reading space, we will ship it to any barbershop in the United
States, regardless of the demographics of the customers.
If you’re interested in sponsoring a reading space or donating
to Barbershop Books you can find more information by visiting the Baberbershop Books web page.
In your opinion, how successful
has the #WeNeedDiverseBooks program been in promoting diverse books to kid
readers?
It is an important movement that is doing great work. The
publishing industry has a long way to go. Despite the presence of a few amazing
books, most of the children’s book titles that feature Black male characters focus
on serious topics like slavery, civil rights, or biographies and those aren’t
always the books that Black boys want to read for fun. I have found that many young
boys want to read funny or silly books like DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, FLY GUY, and
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS. Those are titles that engage our target population.
I was at ALA recently, and I was walking around looking at books with Black protagonists. The books
were almost entirely limited to oppression narratives: slavery, civil rights,
biography, slavery, slavery, civil rights, slavery. My mantra for February’s Black
History Month: I want little Black boys to have the freedom to read books that
are not about freedom.
Tell us a little bit
about your book GROSS GREG. Does Greg really eat boogers?
Oh, he definitely does! Gross Greg doesn’t call them boogers
he calls them delicious little sugars.

Black boys deserve the opportunity to laugh and be children
just like everyone else. Books I see out there now emphasize overcoming
oppression or celebrating difference. These books are important but they
shouldn’t be the only books that feature children of color. Sometimes Black
boys just want to laugh – like all other children. That’s what inspired me to
write GROSS GREG.
Thank you, Alvin, for talking to Kidliterati about this important and wonderful program and inspiring young readers. To learn more about Barbershop Books, sponsor a barbershop, or make a donation visit the Barbershop Books webpage.
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