I thought this one started off slow, and thought it would be a little uninteresting, but by the middle I was hooked! I loved the way that the character's hair sent the message, and things were tied up in the end ;-)

I would recommend this to caregivers of stinky little boys and girls who need to be convinced to take a bath -- it's funny, cute, and sends a nice message in a great way.

I am in love with this book. Finally a messy hair book about a boy!. That’s right, boys have wild and crazy hair too. Aiden’s like to throw brushes in the toilet, splatter paint everywhere, and even become winged birds with no notice. With a little head to hair talk maybe the two can come to a compromise. The pictures are so much fun and really bring this grubby boy to life.

Added Goodreads
Added Litsy

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Geoff Herbach should write more picture books, this was just hilarious and brilliant. It reminded me a bit of I Don't Want Curly Hair by Laura Ellen Anderson. That book is also about a kid who doesn't want her hair. :P The difference is that in this book the hair is actually alive.

Yep, it is alive, and it likes to mess with not only with our MC, but everyone around him (I had such a laugh at the raptor hair). You can imagine it might be fun once, but that at some point you just want your hair to behave and be nice.

It was quite hilarious to see what the kid was trying out to get his hair in place. In the end the solution was quite easy, but I still loved it. Then again, I wouldn't recommend doing that so many times in a week.

The ending was really sweet and I was happy for the little guy, he deserves some peace and quiet. Some normalcy.

The art is super awesome, and I loved it so much. I will be checking if the illustrator made any other books.

All in all, this was a great book, and I would highly recommend it. You will laugh yourself silly.

Good Story; Particularly Effective Drawings

I know and like Geoff Herbach's work from middle grade and early YA books like "Stupid Fast", and I was very curious to see what he would do with a comical tale for younger readers. Well, to my mind he has created an amusing and fairly sophisticated story, but I have to add that I think that it's the illustrations by Stephen Gilpin that really put the book over the top.

Aidan has wild and crazy hair. Aidan's also a bit on the "grubby" side, as young boys are inclined to be. The book opens with Aidan's hair in full on rebellion. With what appears to be a mind of its own the mop of hair undertakes to make Aidan's life embarrassing and difficult. So what is the hair's problem? NO SPOILERS here, but after yelling and screaming and fighting with his hair Aidan finally has a calm conversation with the unruly mop and works out an accommodation.

I did not expect a funny story about messy hair to become a message book about compromise and understanding, but there it is. It's not heavy-handed or preachy, but like lots of Herbach's books there is more there than just a jokey comic tale. There are also some pretty funny throwaway lines, and even an appealingly amusing Dad, so a lot gets packed into a few pages.

On top of it all, though, you get fine illustrations. Most of the pages are mostly taken up with drawings, so they better be good. Gilpin gives the hair a lot of personality and sells its rebellion with gleeful abandon. This is one of those books in which the drawings really and truly support and energize the story, which it seems to me is both good in its own right and very helpful for a new reader stepping up to a more demanding book.

The upshot is that this is fun and silly, well-crafted, and very satisfying as more than just silly. A nice find. (Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Loved this book! Great, fun story that I'm sure the elementary kids at school will love. Will probably add to this my read aloud list.