Eun-hee Choung,
Minji’s Salon
Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 2007.

Ages 3-5

Minji’s mother has gone across the street to get her hair done. Minji and her dog wait outside peering in at the window…but not for long!

While Mom gets a very neat cut and color in the predictable and very grown-up salon, Minji experiments at home with a fairly cooperative client (the dog) and whatever salon supplies (ice cream, water colors) she can find around the house.

“You have to be patient,” Minji tells her dog who is happily slurping ice cream from the container, some crayon rollers dangling from the fur on her ears, “beauty takes time.”. Meanwhile Mom relaxes, eyes closed, on the facing page as her hair is expertly colored and curled. The two narratives run parallel through the book and much of the humor is relayed by Minji’s running dialogue to her “client”, which is always perfectly attuned to what the stylist would be saying to Mom at each stage of her normal salon experience. Minji has obviously observed the process carefully in the past.

While we see a little evidence that Mom’s artiste-stylist sometimes colors outside the lines (some splatters on the shelves, drips over the bowl of dye), he is very restrained and professional when it comes to interacting with the client.  Minji’s boundless creativity, on the other hand, sometimes leaps the page border and winds up in a clump below the frame of Mom’s nice, neat experience.

Minji works hard throughout her mother’s appointment, her long-suffering canine pal loyal to the end. Mom’s new do is a smashing success, and she leaves the salon with a lilt in her step. What will she think of Minji’s efforts when she gets home???

This lively first picture book from Korean author/illustrator Eun-hee Choung is a must for little girls who are fascinated by what happens when Mom visits the hairdresser – and who would perhaps relish the opportunity to do some experimenting themselves.  Family pets beware! Minji’s Salon is so much fun, I’m looking forward to Choung’s next offering, if not, perhaps, another book featuring the delightful Minji.

Abigail Sawyer
April 2009