Early Review - What I Hate: From A to Z by Roz Chast (4/5 stars)

Reading level: All Ages/Adult

Genre: Fiction
Size: 64 pages

Publisher:  Bloomsbury USA
Release Date: October 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-1608196890
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from BEA
Rating: 4/5 stars

I picked an advanced reading copy of this book up at Book Expo America.  It just looked like too much fun to pass up.  It's a fun book, aimed more at adults than kids.  Kids can read it but some of the stuff will go right over their heads.

After an introduction explaining Chast's struggles with anxiety, you delve into an alphabet of things Chast hates.  Each letter gets a page describing something Chast hates (for B it is Balloons) and on the facing page there is a funny cartoon depicting or expanding on the fear/hate.

This book is cleverly done, entertaining and funny.  People who are a bit anxious about things will definitely relate, people who've never been anxious a day in their lives will still laugh at the crazy hates Chast comes up with.  The cartoons are clever and the dialogue sparse (just enough there to add some humor and clarify things).

This is a very quick read, more like a children's picture book than anything else.  It is aimed more at adults though.  There are references to some older things that kids just won't get.  There is also a lot that just goes right over a kid's head.

Overall a fun and quick read.  The illustrations are great and the book is cleverly put together.  I recommend it to people who have anxiety problems, or just people who like to read humor.  A fun book and I am glad I gave it a read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge

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.