Crazy Hair

PreS-Gr 2This award-winning duo delivers a new romp "through a labyrinth of hair." Bonnie, the intrepid young heroine, encounters an odd fellow with a masklike face and comments on his long, wavy locks. Affronted, he defends his do: "In my hair/Gorillas leap, /Tigers stalk, /And ground sloths sleep]. Hunters send in/Expeditions, /Radio back/Their positions/Still, we've lost/a dozen there/Lost inside my "crazy hair"." McKean's computer-enhanced, mixed-media illustrations offer a wondrous interpretation of the outrageous objects enumerated by Gaiman: cockatoos are composed in feathery, neon strokes; transparent hot-air balloons expose intricate collage interiors; leaping dancers radiate color. Many of the scenes have a blurry, dreamlike quality, suggesting movement or a hint of foreboding. The hair varies in density from slender strands to massive jungles to tubular trunks, as under a microscope. The text for this surreal poem (at times a bit awkward) curves, spills, vibrates, and dangles, graphically signaling the mood and the message. Viewers will want to follow closely the design on Bonnie's T-shirt; its transformations offer emotional cues and are partially responsible for the scary/safe feeling readers have after she combs the hair and is pulled inside. This imaginative concoction fits perfectly with Deborah Nourse Lattimore's "The Lady with the Ship on Her Head" (Harcourt, 1990) to celebrate the potential of hair with a life of its own."Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Mister, you've got crazy hair, Bonnie, a girl in a tank top, tells the narrator, whose dark hair twists and tangles across the spreads. (Are they strangers? Relatives? McKean's masklike faces make it hard to tell.) In my hair/ Gorillas leap, / Tigers stalk, / And ground sloths sleep, the man tells her. Cockatoos, explorers, hot-air balloons, pirate ships and moreThese await/ The ones who dare/ Navigate my crazy hair. McKean blends line drawing, paint and closeup images of hair to convey the dizzying variety of life within the man's locks. Even the text participates in the mayhem: lines of type swirl, switch fonts, and swell and shrink for emphasis. When bossy Bonnie offers to tame the man's unruly mop with her comb, he warns, Miss, just be aware/ This is really crazy hair, but it's too late; she meets a Roald Dahlesque end, hauled deep into a new world, safe inside my crazy hair. While some may find the tale's intensity off-putting, fans of Gaiman and McKean's ("The Wolves in the Walls") twisted humor will welcome this lighter-than-usual addition. Ages 48. "(June)"

Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.