The Boy with the Big Hair

by Khoa Le

Overview

“A wonderfully silly story . . . Harry learns the value of good grooming habits . . . delightful depictions of Harry and his outrageous hair.” —Foreword Reviews

Harry hates brushing his hair, but when two doves decide to build a nest in his tangled mop, he has bigger problems than just avoiding an annoying comb. As Harry’s hair continues to grow more and more tangled, a tree begins to grow right out of his head! The tree attracts more birds before their singing starts to drive Harry crazy. Thankfully, his mom comes to the rescue with a solution, but not before Harry learns a big lesson about the importance of keeping himself and his hair neat and tidy.

“Le’s rich colors and sweeping lines make each vignette a pleasure to savor. Alternating dark and light backgrounds, she expresses humor and frustration as needed . . . This brief, fanciful cautionary tale is made sumptuous by the fascinating painting compositions. Perfect for storytime or one-on-one sharing.” —School Library Journal

“The boy with the big hair is the perfect fit for my 4-year-old grandson who hates haircuts . . . The pictures are beautiful and my grandson really enjoys the book.” —Chatting over Coffee

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683831297
Publisher:	Insight Editions
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	24
File size:	56 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 Months to 11 Years

About the Author

Khoa Le is an illustrator, graphic designer, painter, and writer. She graduated from the Fine Arts University in Ho Chi Mihn City. She has published ten books, four of which she both wrote and illustrated. Her artwork has been featured in numerous exhibitions in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea.

Editorial Reviews

"The boy with the big hair is the perfect fit for my 4 year old grandson who hates hair cuts. Not sure if it will help yet, but it is about a boy that hates hair cuts, but soon realizes that he must cut it. The pictures are beautiful and my grandson really enjoys the book."

— Chatting Over Coffee

From the Publisher

06/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—Vietnamese graphic designer Le's picture book fantasy begins with a 3-D cover of a boy with a sprouting sapling and pair of doves nesting in his bushy head. Since Harry (aka Hairy) will not allow anyone to cut or comb his hair, he becomes a traveling home for an avian family, whose singing during music class leads to the boy's ejection. When the tree grows, resulting in the addition of windblown clothing and a tea set in the branches, "Hairy" returns to Harry, thanks to his mother's pruning. The tree stays in the garden, and the boy enjoys the freedom of keeping tidy. Le's rich colors and sweeping lines make each vignette a pleasure to savor. Alternating dark and light backgrounds, she expresses humor and frustration as needed. VERDICT This brief, fanciful cautionary tale is made sumptuous by the fascinating painting compositions. Perfect for storytime or one-on-one sharing.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

School Library Journal

2016-03-16
An unkempt lad with a deep aversion to combs and brushes learns his lesson when birds take up residence on his head. Unlike many other takes on this popular premise, which are spun into celebrations of individuality, Le crafts from it a cautionary tale. Harry's refusal to let anyone tame his wild mane not only results in a nickname of "Hairy," but draws a pair of doves who in time raise such a noisy family that he's thrown out of choir practice at school. Worse yet, a tree grows (rather suddenly) atop his noggin—providing both room for more nesting couples as well as branches on which all sorts of errant clothing and bric-a-brac catch. But it's the continual noise that at last drives him to let his mom replant the tree and scissor down his thatch. The accomplished, artfully mottled illustrations feature lots of white birds and short-haired, light-skinned children flocking around a button-eyed lad with a grayish-brown mop and an unhappy moue. In the end Harry's frown is transformed into a smile beneath a cutely fringed bowl cut more consistent with what his peers are sporting, and the avian chatter becomes "happy songs." This spin on a familiar comical trope offers some chuckles, but the valuation of conformity over personal choice may leave readers scratching their heads—and maybe wondering where cleanliness, never mentioned, comes in. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews