Puzzlehead

Taking the idea of “fitting in” literally, Puzzlehead and his friends Mo, Bob, Sue and Stevie use their heads—literally—to figure out how to play. (The whole gang, with oversize heads in unusual geometric shapes, seems to exist in only two dimensions, like paper cutouts.) “Come spin with me, Puzzlehead,” cries Bob, whose T-shaped head fits perfectly into a kind of whirligig, which he spins around on. “That will make me too dizzy,” Puzzlehead replies glumly. At last Puzzlehead locates a space into which his head fits neatly. Though once installed (upside down), “there was not much to do in his perfect Puzzlehead place.” Yang's (the Joey and Jet books) stylish pages are full of typographic whimsy, with dialogue bunched by the heads of the speakers, big capital letters used for emphasis and entire sentences set in curvy lines that match the arc of the action. A clever conclusion brings the whole gang back together and delivers the story's message that—regardless of their shape—a few heads are better than one. Ages 3–6. (Apr.)