cover image Camilla's New Hairdo

Camilla's New Hairdo

Tricia Tusa. Farrar Straus Giroux, $14.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-0-374-31021-9

This esoteric tale of an unusual friendship combines the world of haute coiffure with experiments in aviation. In a tower with no doors lives Camilla, with little to entertain her save the elaborate hairdos that she fashions for herself. Gathering inspiration solely from her limited view of the world--through her windows--this eccentric lady has her food delivered (windows again), ``and everything else I order from catalogues.'' Mozelle, a girl learning to fly, makes a ``crash landing'' one day on Camilla's floor, and the two embark on a series of new ``dos.'' One particularly ingenious creation allows the new friends to leap from the tower into the outside world and the start of a highly successful salon. Though Tusa's ( Sherman and Pearl ; Maebelle's Suitcase ) quirky concoction has a certain wackiness that will appeal to children, many will remain uninvolved in her farfetched, disjointed narrative. With their vigorous, angular images, her imaginative watercolors complement the more bizarre aspects of this hair-raising story. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)