Bugs in My Hair!

Starred review from July 1, 2013
Shannon offers young head lice victims and the grownups who love them a much-needed source of levity and empathy. His itchy redheaded hero can’t help imagining the worst—which is right up Shannon’s alley (his always expressive hand-lettering is deployed to especially good effect). What if the boy becomes a social pariah? What if his condition requires a scorched scalp policy? What if the “lice-a-palooza” in his hair (which looks more like a hootenanny than a rock festival) takes over the entire house? Shannon wisely allows these anxieties to vent, then calmly defuses them with epiphanies (“I found out a bunch of kids had them!”) and informative asides (“Relax. Dogs don’t get head lice”). He also underscores the idea that every lice-ridden kid has a secret weapon: mom (the book is dedicated to “moms everywhere and their battled-tested anti-lice weapons”). By book’s end, the lice have been whittled down from satanic scourge to manageable pain, and readers will come away reassured that it will take a lot more than a bunch of bug-eyed, multilegged “Little Nasties” to sink their families. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from July 1, 2013
Head lice morph into friendly fellows in this comical and necessary title. When the intrepid narrator's mother discovers his infestation, she immediately jumps into action. Factoids about lice and their transmittal and treatment follow quickly. The youngster suffers from a large dose of shame as he wonders how they found him. He willingly cooperates with his ever-vigilant mother as she marches boldly into the fray, which climaxes with a visit to "a professional lice treatment place." Alas, the lice return, and the treatment must be repeated. Never fear, the boy knows his medieval history and readies for the next joust with suitable head armor. Shannon's trademark color palette of yellows and oranges, so wonderful in his David books, fills the spreads with explosive energy as his magnificently magnified lice leap off the pages with endearingly expressive faces, personalities and costumes. Playful lettering becomes part of the page design and demands a most expressive reading voice. Few books for young readers come with a warning. Heed the one boldly penned on the back cover: "This book will make you ITCHY!" Don't scratch your head over this purchase: Entertainment and information are all wrapped up in one funny and disinfected package. (Picture book. 4-7)

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July 1, 2013

K-Gr 3-There's a Lice-a-Palooza going on-right on top of the narrator's head. Our hero (he appears to be a slightly more mature David) has head lice. His ever-attentive mother is on the attack, with stinky stuff and a nit comb. Head lice may have taken over the boy's life, but his mom can conquer just about anything. Shannon's wry sense of humor makes a sticky subject easier to talk about, and although funny, the book imparts quite a bit of information while revealing the humiliation, embarrassment, frustration, and downright itchiness of these little nasties. Shannon's signature cartoon illustrations step the book up a level. The narrator's imagination runs wild-what is going on up there on his head? Cleverly designed spreads depict the lice having a party, hanging out on the couch watching TV, and dancing. But wait...they are actually vampire bugs feasting on his blood. Libraries everywhere should have this book, as this perennial problem crops up in just about every community. The book even comes with its own warning: "This book will make you itchy!"-Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
Grades K-2 Lice! Lice! Aaaaargh! Every kid's confused terror at being diagnosed with the itchy little buggers is mirrored here in Shannon's chortling, over-the-top, but ultimately comforting ode to eradicating the problem. There were BUGS! an unnamed red-haired boy reports. In my HAIR!! And they were laying EGGS!!! As the boy scratches, Shannon zooms in for one of many extreme extreme close-ups of the beasties holding a Lice-a-Palooza in his hair. Oh, the SHAME! The humiliation! cries the boy as he endures school, wondering not only if everyone knows but also how the heck he caught the plaguefrom a hug? a hat? his dog? (Facts marked with asterisks deliver a bit of additional info: Relax. Dogs don't get head lice.) The whole grueling removal procedure, from zero-tolerance laundry to medicated oil to a nit comb is depicted, with the combing apocalypse of lice being the most humorous. Obviously this is a blaring, shouty affair, but tons of fun, and isn't fun what sufferers of head lice need the most? (Aside from a shaved head.)(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
A boy describes the mayhem that ensues when he catches lice. Shannon's informative and amusing text lets readers know that everyone feels embarrassed and grossed out by lice, and his gigantic, googly-eyed bugs add to both the humor and the yuck factor. This book should prove helpful for both kids and adults, but, like the back jacket warns, it will definitely "make you ITCHY!"

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)