Barbershop Books

09/28/2026

🏀 Shook by Julian Randall⁠
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Shake dreams of making the varsity basketball team, but an injury puts everything at risk. This heartfelt middle grade novel explores basketball, identity, setbacks, and finding your way back.⁠
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📖 Ages 9 to 12⁠
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09/24/2026

🪐 TIME for Kids: Planets by Sarah Jospitre⁠
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Explore Mars, Pluto, water in space, and more in this photo-filled early reader. This book is perfect for curious young readers who love science, space, and big questions about the universe.⁠
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📖 Ages 6 to 9⁠
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09/23/2026

🏕️ David’s Diary: The Summer Camp Disaster by Bunmi Laditan⁠
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David is excited for his first sleepaway camp, but one embarrassing moment threatens to ruin the whole week. This funny diary-style story explores big feelings, camp chaos, and finding a better way forward.⁠
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📖 Ages 6 to 9⁠
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09/18/2026

We were proud to help celebrate the launch of Barbershop Books in partnership with the Onondaga Community College Foundation, The Syracuse City School District, Onondaga County Public Libraries, and local barbers.

By bringing books into trusted community spaces, this initiative helps inspire a love of reading and improve literacy outcomes for children. We're grateful to support this collaborative effort and the partners working together to make a lasting impact in our community.

09/18/2026

Happy Read an E-Book Day! 📚✨

Today, we’re highlighting a title from the Barbershop Books E-Library: Oh Brother, My Brother by Brandon D. Campbell.

This warm and heartfelt story follows Ohmar and Mychael, two brothers with different personalities, big imaginations, and a bond shaped by laughter, rivalry, love, and family.

With conversation questions at the end of each chapter, this book also invites children and caregivers to talk, reflect, and connect.

Explore Oh Brother, My Brother and other fun titles in the Barbershop Books E-Library using the link below.

https://barbershopbooks.org/elibrary/oh-brother-my-brother/

09/18/2026

Barbershop Books has been selected as one of 26 teams advancing in the ATS Hub Ideas Challenge, a national competition backed by the Institute of Education Sciences and led by Digital Promise and SRI International. Our project, "Accelerating literacy growth with reading identity development" advanced in the Early Childhood and Grades K-5 category.

The Ideas Challenge looks for scalable, breakthrough ideas that build student agency and academic knowledge. Reading identity development has been at the center of our work since 2013. When children see themselves as a reader, they read more, and reading more leads to better reading and life outcomes. This simple theory of change sparked our national movement, which now supports over 200 colorful, kid-sized bookshelves in neighborhood barbershops nationwide, reaching more than 23,000 children each month.

We are proud to represent the children, families, and communities who believe every child deserves to say “I’m a reader!” More to come.

The ATS Hub selects 26 teams to advance to the next round of the Ideas Challenge

09/17/2026

For some Syracuse children, a trip to the barbershop now comes with something extra: a good book. That was the idea behind Monday evening’s launch of Barbershop Books, a nationally recognized, child-centered literacy program that is bringing books and a love of reading into local barbershops and salons.

During a kickoff celebration at Betts Branch Library, children received haircuts while enjoying books and reading - bringing to life a program designed to make reading a fun and natural part of everyday life.

Barbershop Books Founder and Executive Director Alvin Irby said the idea began with a simple observation during a haircut. Irby was sitting in a New York City barbershop when one of his students walked into the shop and spent 10 or 15 minutes staring out the window. “I was sitting there looking at him and thinking, ‘He should be practicing his reading right now,’” Irby recalled. “I wished I had a children’s book to give him, but I didn’t.”

For some Syracuse children, a trip to the barbershop now comes with something extra: a good book. That was the idea behind Monday evening’s launch of Barbershop Books, a nationally recognized, child-centered literacy program that is bringing books and a love of reading into local barbershops and s...

09/15/2026

🐺 Underwear Wolf by Gideon Sterer⁠
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One rule-breaking kid transforms into the one and only Underwear Wolf. This funny, wild read-aloud is full of nighttime adventure, big laughs, and plenty of silly surprises.⁠
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📖 Ages 4 to 8⁠
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