Pivotal Kids Book

From Booklist

The duo responsible for The Wolves in the Walls (2003) return with another chaotic picture book popping with bright collage and multimedia imagery. A man takes umbrage with a young girl ogling his outrageous hairdo, and tells her in a series of increasingly ridiculous rhymes all the things that can be found in the stupendous swaths swirling upon his head (“Hunters send in expeditions, / Radio back their positions / Still, we’ve lost a dozen there / Lost inside my crazy hair.”) Each page is a veritable feast for the eyes, with frazzled clumps of hair competing for attention with outlandish elements—carousels, pirate ships, blue octopi, comb-eating bears—incorporated into the frenzied mix. There’s something a little unsettling and unhinged about the imagery, just on the safe side of nightmarish; but the text, for the most part, is delightful and glib. The whole thing comes off as a little self-gratifying on the creators’ parts, but there is no doubting the dazzling creativity on display. Perhaps best recommended for children with an adventurous artistic sensibility. Preschool-Grade 3.

--Ian Chipman

Released:  26th May 2009

Publisher: Harper Collins

Ages: 4-8

Themes: Hair, funny, poetry

1.      ---Visit his blog to read more about the book (and other things) from Neil Gaiman

    

3.      ---Listen to the author, Neil Gaiman reading his poem

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