Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg

This is going to be a day I will never forget.

Back in 2008 I wrote my first post for this blog and I mentioned Crazy Hair Day. This year I visited a tiny rural school here in NSW and Crazy Hair Day was one of my chosen books to share with this group of children aged 5-10. This is a book that appeals to every age. Yesterday I was talking about some favourite books and I again mentioned Crazy Hair Day.  I thought it was time I talked in more detail about this little gem.

Stanley is so excited because today is Crazy Hair Day. His mother helps to wrap, dip and spray his hair. As Stanley says "I am a work of art!". The final flourish of Halloween hair spray is just perfect.

Stanley bounces along to school. He knows this will be a great day. His class really enjoy celebrations like this. They have already had Twin day, Sixties day, and Pyjama Day. You have probably guessed what is going to happen. As Stanley walks along the hall towards his class he hears his teacher, Mr Winger, say some terrible words:

"And remember,' Mr Winger was saying, 'Crazy Hair Day is ... Next Friday."

Making things even worse it turns out today is also class picture day. Stanley runs down the hall and hides in the bathroom.

I love the emotional arc of this story.
Happy anticipation - today will be great
Despair - he has the wrong day
Boredom - hiding in the bathroom time moves slowly
A laugh or two when Stanley invents a race to flush all the toilets
Reconciliation - Stanley and his best friend Larry need to heal their friendship
Problem solving - Is there a way to help Stanley feel he is part of this class and to take away the pain of this day?
Happiness when Stanley re-enters his class and discovers the kindness of his friends and wonderful teacher.

The repeated parts of this story also add to the fun when you read this book aloud:

Stanley rolled the elastic bands in is hair. 
He gently tapped the tops of his spikes.
This is going to be a day I will never forget.

You can hear the song here but be warned it may lead to an ear worm it is just so catchy. Barney Saltzberg is an illustrator and a talented musician. I have this album of children's songs.

You can see and hear the author Barney Saltzberg reading the whole book here. He explains the inspiration for this book:

"I was talking to some students at a school one morning before the bell rang, and a boy came up to us with his hair dyed orange and blue and with big spikes," the author-illustrator recalls. "Somebody looked at him and said, 'Crazy Hair Day is tomorrow!' The boy looked horrified, blurted out something, then ran the other way. I felt terrible for this boy and wondered how it could possibly turn around into a better situation."  I wanted Crazy Hair Day to show how Stanley might come to terms with feeling so out of place and realize he still belong to a larger group of friends, even though he looked different. Of course, I didn't want to hit anyone over the head with a 'message', so I tried to plant the seeds through humour." 

There are two other books where you can read about Stanley Birdbaum and his best friend Larry Finchfeather. I love these names. Can you also see a link with Mr Winger?

The pros and cons of being a frog by Sue deGennaro

There is a subtle little design feature on the front cover of this CBCA Short listed book. If you feel the numbers you will notice number 17 and number 23 are embossed into the cover.  This is because Camille is a numbers girl.  She loves numbers so much she sometimes uses them to communicate.  17 means NO and 23 means YES.  Oddly you wont find 17 or 23 among the jumble of numbers on the end papers.  There is another number shown in this book - 8 but it is not explained.  The reader needs to look closely the context where Camille uses 8 to work it out.  I think 8 might mean a perfect match.

Our unnamed narrator loves to dress up and he loves frogs.  Initially he dresses up as a cat but this leads to difficulties with a local dog.  He tries on other animals suits but it is Camille who finally suggests a frog.  "Frogs are not solitary creatures. I decided I needed a friend.  Camille agreed to help."

This book reminded me of Suzie and Alfred in the night of the paperbag monsters by Helen Craig.  Camille and her friend almost lose each other in the process.  It is up to the narrator to make the peace after he makes a careful list of Pros and Cons....  Here are the cons.

"1.  Not everyone loves wearing a frog costume as much as me.
2.   If you start getting bossy about your frog costume then your friend will get up and leave.
3.   A frog is not a solitary creature so it's no fun for a frog if his friend gets up and leaves."

When we read this book at school we will also look at Henry and Amy right way round and upside down by Stephen Michael King, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey and A friend like Ed by Karen Wagner.

Here is an excellent review.
This gorgeous book is not only cleverly written, it is an absolute delight for the eyes. Sue deGennaro has a brilliant knack for combining modern yet whimsical illustrations with unusual, artsy undertones and design layout that is just so beautiful, it screams avant-garde without feeling alienating or pretentious.

Why Momo?

This is my first blog - I guess everyone starts with this. My Favourite book is "Momo" and there will be more on that in a later blog. I am a children's librarian and I hope to use my blog to talk about the books I love.

This last week we have been reading "Crazy Hair Day" by Barney Saltzberg. He has a great web site http://www.barneysaltzberg.com/. I love all the messages of this book. It is okay to be different. Friends can help. All we need to know in life is that we are accepted by our friends. I estimate I have read this book to over 500 children and it is a winner every time.

So what happens in this picture book? Stanley comes to school all ready for Crazy Hair day but it is on next Friday. Today is class photo day. Stanley hides in the boys toilets in despair. The last page is so wonderful and all my kids love the little song Stanley sings for courage. Children aged 6 and 7 especially enjoy this story about Stanley and his friend Larry. Look in your library for a copy.