WHERE DID MOMO'S HAIR GO?

A clown’s hair takes flight.

Momo has a scribble-scrabble poof of red hair. It’s on his head when he walks out the door, but when he runs to catch the bus, the hair is gone. The repeated refrain—the question on everyone’s mind—rings out: “Where did Momo’s hair go?” Oh no! Here it is…“on the head of Mrs. Strudel’s poodle.” But then the pup sneezes, and the hair is off once again. It flies through the air many times, always landing on various dogs. The breeds rhyme with their owners’ names (“Ms. Peppard’s German shepherd”), although some feel like a bit of a stretch, perhaps the result of translating the text from the original French. Transportation enthusiasts will enjoy spotting the many forms of transit found along the hair’s flight path (even a unicycle). The playful text has momentum built in with the pursuit of Momo’s hair, but Hamel’s quirky art steals the show. Dollops of bright colors, accented with squiggles, dots, and dashes, imbue the illustrations with fluidity and movement. Momo’s city includes human inhabitants (with all skin colors, including blue; Momo has skin the white of the page) and anthropomorphized animals. The story ends on a cliffhanger, inviting readers to fill in the rest. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A silly romp through a silly town.