<Haircut> is an unflattened picturebook and it is the extension of my PhD research; after obtaining the knowledge and the mindset to design unflattened picturebooks through lots of practice, I started to be more confident with making unflattened picturebooks and get inspiration to serve the purpose of making unflattened picturebook. I am very glad the illustration from the book won the Bologna children's book illustration award. And the Chinese version has been published recently.
Haircut was inspired by a haircut experience. I personally don't like haircuts. Fortunately, women can avoid haircuts under the pretext of growing their hair. However,to make myself look fresh and professional in the working place. I "forced" myself to find a barber for this purpose. I met a hairdressr in the town I live. She is a gentle and soft person, her fingers seem have magic. Every time her finges run through my hair, it makes me feel like I am being looked after nicely. Because of this barber, I felt for the first time that a haircut can also be a relaxing experience.The experience totally subverted my idea of hair cut and even inspired me to make a unflattend book.
The sample book of "Haircutting" came out very quickly. My original intention was to introduce the process of cutting hair to children as simple and intuitive as possible, so that they can be prepared. Especially for children who are cutting hair for the first time, they will definitely panic when they don't understand the hair cutting process. Just as adults feel nervous about unknown experiences. As for the understanding of this process, I hope to help young readers experience a haircut in the way of a game. "Pretend experience" is the most direct way for children to learn the rules of life. Through this book, they can pretend to be a barber to cut hair for the children in the picture, and recognize this process. At the same time, they can also understand the process by observing the children's expressions in the picture, listening to the adults reading the text, and playing with the little book, just like playing a game. Perhaps, when the children get their hair cut later, they become mentally prepared and can also tell the barber: "This shampoo smells like a lollipop."
