Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos Deborah Stevenson Heos, Bridget Mustache Baby; illus. by Joy Ang. Clarion, 2013 [40p] ISBN 978-0-547-77357-5 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R 5–7 yrs When baby Billy is born with a mustache, a nurse explains the possibilities to his parents: “You’ll have to wait and see whether it is a good-guy mustache or a bad-guy mustache.” Initially, “Billy’s mustache was noble and just”: as a cowboy he protects his cattle (okay, stuffed animal) from the depredations of the range (okay, the chewing of the dog), and as a cop, he stops speeders (biking and skateboarding siblings). As he grows older, however, things—and Billy’s mustache—change, and his “disreputable mustache led him into a life of dreadful crime,” culminating in a bank robbery (piggy bank, of course) that gets him thrown in jail (crib). The book bristles with appealing humor, between the mustache itself and the artistic interpretations of Billy’s doings, and audiences will appreciate the underlying acceptance of Billy at his worst as well as best. The art, smoothly textured, opaque digital tones that suggest acrylic, is at times overcartoony, but big-headed Billy is an adorable Fisher-Price cowboy/villain. Make the kid-friendly joke even better by doling out paper cookie-dusters so the crowd can mustache up with Billy—it’s up to you whether you make them good or bad. Deborah Stevenson Editor Copyright © 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois