Even Monsters Need Haircuts

Starred review from July 5, 2010
In McElligott's delightfully deadpan story, a boy sneaks out to his father's barbershop for a full-moon session of monster haircutting. Grainy washes with simple, black outlines reflect the gentle art of barbering as the boy stands on a stool (blindfolded) to braid Medusa's snakes, as other monsters patiently await their turns. "Some customers are easy," the boy says, as he cuts a single, springy hair from a one-eyed troll. "Some are more difficult," he goes on, tackling a hairy fiend with pruning shears. With the distinctive combination of the freakish and the humdrum, it's a good candidate for the stack of battered bedtime favorites. Ages 4–8.