cover image Aaron's Hair

Aaron's Hair

Robert N. Munsch. Scholastic, $11.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-439-19258-3

The creators of Get Out of Bed! here offer a rather rootless tale about what happens when a boy, frustrated with his unruly tresses, yells, ""Hair, I hate you!"" The phrase becomes a refrain as Aaron's hair, its feelings hurt, jumps off his head and affixes itself to various people's body parts, beginning with the head of his baby sibling and including a woman's navel and a man's behind, and finally proceeds to a policeman who can't see to direct traffic when the hair flies onto his face. When each victim yells, ""Hair, I hate you!"" the hair heads on its way. Though this repetitive refrain and the story's broad humor may attract a few kids, most will find this feckless fare. The illustrators exploit the tale's outlandish visual potential to the level of slapstick sitcom, creating cartoon-style watercolors of Aaron's 1960s-holdover family as well as a Deadhead motorcyclist and a hippie on inline skates. Far from one of this storyteller's glossiest performances. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)