A hilarious homage to a hairless dad and his world-traveling hair.
Get ready for a hair-raising—or should we say hair-racing?—chase and an abundance of absurdity and witty wordplay.
When light-skinned Dad’s hair tires of being brushed, it springs off Dad’s head and hurries off to see the world. Of course, a horrified Dad tries to capture it, since it’s been with him since infancy. Dad scolds. He begs. He chases the hair outside and into town. In a circuitous romp through town, the hair attempts to “cut and run at the barber,” “[creeps] into a crypt,” “duck[s]…into a pond,” and “[takes] a spin around the launderette.” Dad’s search at the zoo yields “nix at the desert fox,” “zilch at the zebras,” and “at the hippo, zippo.” When a zookeeper hoses the hair down the drain, the hair traverses the sewers to the sea, and a resigned and bald (but bearded) Dad heads home. “His former crowning glory” sends postcards from “Manhairtan Island,” “Hairizona,” and “Buenos Haires.” But just as Dad is about to give up hope, things take a turn. This zany tale, translated from German and narrated by Dad’s unseen child, with colorful illustrations of various sizes, is perfect for an intimate lap-read. Younger listeners will enjoy the silly, complicated chase scenes, while slightly older kids and even adults will also appreciate the plentiful puns and amusing alliteration. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A hilarious homage to a hairless dad and his world-traveling hair. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781776575206
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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