The Blurb On The Back:

JoJo & Gran Gran

JoJo has never been to the hairdresser so she’s very excited to be going with Gran Gran today.  She gets to help out – and even have her own hair styled, too!

JOJO & GRAN GRAN GO TO THE HAIRDRESSER was released in the United Kingdom on 12th May 2022.  Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

You can order JOJO & GRAN GRAN GO TO THE HAIRDRESSER by Pat-A-Cake Books from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

The Review (Cut For Spoilers):

Gran Gran is going to the hairdresser to get her hair cut and JoJo and Panda are going with her.  JoJo is very excited.  She’s never been to the hairdresser before because her mum always cuts her hair.  Gran Gran’s hairdresser, Charlene, shows JoJo how the salon works and what happens to people who get their hair cut and even gives JoJo the chance to help out!

This is the 5th in the JOJO & GRAN GRAN picture book series that accompanies the CBeebies series (which itself is based on a book/characters by Laura Henry-Allain).  Sometimes tie-ins can feel stale and ho-hum, but a lot of thought has gone into this and I loved the way it celebrates Black hair and hairstyles.  JoJo has a lot of personality and the love between her and Gran Gran is very moving and I think younger readers will thoroughly enjoy it.

I wasn’t familiar with this series when I picked the book up so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  I did like the way the book begins by giving the reader a picture glossary so they can see some of the words that will be used in the book and understand what it means.  I also liked the way that there’s a series of pictures at the end of the book so that readers can point to them in the order of events from the story.

The story itself is a celebration of Black hair and hairstyles, which I really enjoyed.  JoJo sees a number of different Black hairstyles and even gets to have her own hair styled at the end.  The love between JoJo and Gran Gran is apparent from literally the first page and I enjoyed how JoJo is included in the activities of the salon as she tries to help out.  Special shout out to Panda, who is very cute (and I’m not just saying that because I had a panda cuddly toy when I was little … Okay, so maybe I am).  The illustrations are well done and show the characters of the various people in the salon together with the various activities.

All in all, I thought this was literally a cut above other tie-in books out there and would definitely check out the rest of this series.