Abby McGanney Nolan
Covering not just wigs but all manner of haircuts and hairdos, the book is filled with surprising facts and equally amusing illustrations.
—The Washington Post
School Library Journal
Gr 2–4—From early humans to the British punks of the 1970s and many stops in between, Krull teases readers with intriguing, humorous facts about hair and grooming. The picture-book format is perfectly suited to impart just the right amount of information that children will find both entertaining and riveting. The author describes how the ancient Maya used boards to flatten and elongate the heads of infants and then tied beads in front of their eyes to encourage crossing them, and how the women of Marie Antoinette's era created elaborate dioramas on top of their heads that sometimes lasted for months. Wigs, horse-grooming techniques, and a multitude of ingredients, both edible and repulsive, all make appearances in the pages. It is clear that the fascination with hair is certainly not a modern trend, but one that has been around since humans had hair on top of their heads. The muted pastel-colored gouache paintings are whimsical and delightful, depicting scenarios such as Hippocrates and Aristotle arguing over the merits of various cures for baldness and a woman using a vacuum cleaner as a hair dryer, which will surely bring out the giggles. Notes at the end extend the facts and provide yet more tantalizing strands of information.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA
