cover image Murgatroyd's Garden

Murgatroyd's Garden

Judy Zavos. St. Martin's Press, $9.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-312-01629-6

This is the ultimate cautionary tale for any children who refuse to undergo shampoos now and then. Murgatroyd is one such child; when the subject comes up, he screams so fiercely that people everywhere have to buy earmuffs for protection. The mayor, the queen and the president meet and decide that Murgatroyd's parents should let the boy have his way. Peace and quiet prevail while Murgatroyd's dirty hair grows into a garden, complete with vegetables, fruits, birds and an apple tree. As the garden expands, Murgatroyd becomes smaller and more miserable with each passing day. Finally he decides to uproot his troubles and lives with clean, shiny locks to this day. Told with theatrical touches and a good, bouncy tone, this tall tale will amuse those who wash and impress those who don't (or don't want to). The art is a unique blend of black-and-white line drawings and full-color work, so that prominent figures in each scene gain an extra dimension against the spare backdrop. And the illustrator skillfully walks a line between outright exaggeration and inflated surrealism, rendering every scene a bonanza of details. Ages 5-8. (April)