Tisa Walker dreads Monday mornings. "School was not the problem/She liked going there./But Monday was the day/Mommy braided Tisa's hair." She hides, but every week her mother finds her, combs, and carefully braids her long, thick hair...Grimes uses her beautiful poetic touch to narrate this story told in easy-to-read rhyming couplets. Ford's appealing watercolor artwork, done largely in pastel shades, extends and adorns the simple story. The artist depicts warm and loving African-American family members, all of whom seem to devote Monday mornings to getting Tisa ready to face the world. In the end, the child is very pleased with herself, but every reader will guess that she'll try to avoid the combing and braiding next week. An enjoyable read-aloud or read-alone." School Library Journal