Today Is… Books with Barbers Day!

If you haven’t heard about this awesome way to share literacy with kids, check it out! Books with Barbers works “works with barber shops to close the literacy gap for young African American males. Our goal is to fully equip local barbershops with reading libraries that attract the interest of school-aged boys and to positively impact local neighborhoods and the families who live there.”
Barbershops who partner with this organization receive a variety of books that are displayed prominently in their barbershops for young boys to read while they’re waiting for a haircut and during the haircut. And if they like what they’re reading? They can take it home with them! Access to books is one the key factors in becoming lifelong readers and if you spend a regular amount of time at the barbershop, what better place to have books?
Other barbershops around the country are doing something similar – enticing families into their shops with not only cool looking ‘dos, but with books as well. Some offer discounts if the child reads aloud during their haircut, some offer free cuts for quick book reports filled out when they complete a title, but honestly it’s not about the discounts or free cuts – it’s about closing the literacy gap and giving kids the chance to see that reading is valuable and respected, not only in school, but in the community as well!