gracef's Full Review: Anne Akers Johnson and Robin Stoneking - Braids an...
I have a confession to make. I’m a klutz. Normally, I can find ways to hide this characteristic. I don’t try to fix things around the house. I take the car to the mechanic. And I avoid playing sports (especially one where my lack of coordination might endanger the life of another player). To date, I’ve done a fairly good job at hiding my defect. But every now and then, I find myself in a situation where I just can’t run away from the truth. Such was the case one morning when my daughter looked up at me with her big, beautiful blue eyes and cried, “Momma, you made my hair look funny again!”
My husband was sympathetic to my plight (and our daughter’s). During one of his rare shopping excursions, he happened upon a book called Braids & Bows: A Book of Instruction. What attracted him was not the picture of the cute girl with the long braid that was on the cover of the book. What really caught his eye was the little round seal in one corner of the cover that said “100% KLUTZ CERTIFIED”. Thrilled with his discovery, he was still afraid that actually purchasing the book would hurt my feelings. But later, after watching another torturous session with me attempting to French braid my dear daughter’s hair, he finally broke down and told me about the book. I went out and bought it the next day.
Braids & Bows: A Book of Instruction is a good book for learning how to style a girl’s hair. The book is designed to make this task as easy as possible. It is spiral bound, and the covers are made of stiff cardboard. This makes it so that the book remains open while the reader is attempting to execute one of the hairstyles. Each style includes a bright picture of an adorable girl with that hairstyle and diagrams that show where the hands should be positioned and the exact order of steps to create the perfect ‘do. The book is divided into four sections. The introduction covers the basics, like how to wash and part hair. It also shows how to tie the perfect bow. The second section shows basic hairstyles. Most of these were ones that I could already do fairly well. (Pony tails and headbands aren’t all THAT tough!) The third section shows basic braids. Again, I could do some of these. As the book continued, the styles became harder. By the time I got to the middle of this section, I was really studying the diagrams and trying to figure out if my fumble fingers could actually create such things. The last section covers French braids. For me, this was the Holy Grail of hairstyles. My daughter’s best friend’s mom could create a perfect one with her eyes closed; I wanted to do that too. Overall, the book contains sufficient information for even the dullest person to be able to figure out how to create attractive hairstyles.
Moreover, Braids & Bows: A Book of Instruction is a wonderful book for learning how to make beautiful hair bows and other hair decorations. It contains step-by-step instructions, with diagrams, for how to make basic hair bows, hair barrettes, and scrunchies. It also contains some variations on basic barrettes, like how to make one using balloons instead of ribbons.
To get the reader started making beautiful braids and bows, the book contains an assortment of hair accessories including ribbons, blank barrettes, wire, and bobby pins. This justified the $17 price for the book. One fancy hair bow can cost around $3. There were enough supplies to make at least 10 fancy bows.
OK… So Braids & Bows: A Book of Instruction won’t necessarily cure my problems. The book ignores the fact that I still need a willing victim for practice. All the diagrams in the world won’t help without actually trying the styles. My daughter tries to be patient, but with all of my tugging and fumbling, I can’t blame her for saying sheepishly, “I’d rather not have a braid today. Thanks anyway.” If nothing else, this book has given me enough information to make beautiful hair bows. In addition to making them for my daughter, I now attach hair bows to birthday gifts for friends and family. Everyone looks at them and thinks that I’m wonderful. So once again, my secret is safe.
My girls and I use our copy daily as we "fix" hair. Detailed illustrated instructions and stunning photographs elevate everyday grooming to an art. ...More at Love To Learn
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