Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman (5/5 stars)

Okay so I am a huge Gaiman fan. I know Gaiman has released a couple books for children, but I don't have any of them. When I saw "Crazy Hair" was coming out I actually pre-ordered it. All my expectations were met; it is a great kid's book and I also enjoy it as an adult.

I read through it first by myself to make sure it wasn't too scary. Personally the fact that the main character has all of this crazy stuff living in his hair creeped me out a little. Then the girl gets sucked into his hair; which I thought might be scary to my 2 1/2 year old son. Still once the girl is in his hair she has a really good time. The pictures (in true Dave McKean style) are very abstract and a little creepy. There is one picture in particular with a pirate ship swooping through huge hair folicles that is a bit odd. So all-in-all the normal mix of wildly creative, creepy, strange that I have come to expect from the Gaiman/McKean team. The book itself is a good length for a toddler; long enough to be a good story but short enough to keep their attention.

So, how did my son like it?

He absolutely loves this book. We read it over and over. He loves that every stanza ends with "crazy hair!" and screams that closing statement at the top of his lungs. He thinks it is really neat that all of this stuff lives in this guy's hair. When the girl gets sucked into the guy's hair he thinks it is hilarious and he has memorized all of the neat things she does "dancing in his crazy hair!"

He also finds the abstract artwork fascinating and will spend (well not hours) but minutes at a time (that's a lot for a toddler) just staring at them and pointing out the things he sees.

In summary I was very pleased with this book and so was my 2 1/2 year old son. We read it every night. It is a great story with wonderful artwork. It made me anxious to get some of Gaiman and McKean's other children's books. This is a book that I will keep forever; it definitely gets a spot on my keeper shelf. I would strongly recommend this book for all ages.