Beard Boy

March 21, 2016
Flannery debuts with a sweetly goofy story about a young family that includes an emotive boy with a beard fixation. Luckily for Ben, there’s no shortage of facial hair to admire as he, his tattooed mother, and his younger sister roam their Brooklynesque neighborhood. “Does it get too warm in the winter?” he asks a man in a wheelchair with a bushy gray beard, and he excitedly points out a rare “ ’stacheburn” on an urban cowboy. The reason that beards fascinate Ben is simple—his lanky father has one—and Ben attempts to fashion one for himself using bath bubbles, peanut butter, and permanent marker. Weinberg (Rex Finds an Egg! Egg! Egg!) works in a playfully disarrayed style, using loose squiggle to outline his characters in bright purple, bringing a jittery energy to the pages. When Ben’s father shows up clean shaven one morning so that he and Ben can “look alike,” the boy isn’t flattered but upset. A visit to the costume store (run by a friend’s two fathers) provides them with both extravagant beards and an experience to share. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt Agency.

March 15, 2016
In this illustrated ode to the beard, an impatient son seeks to invent and claim a beard of his own to connect with the cool brush of his father. "Billy, the best baker in town, had a short boxed beard. All of the barbers were bodaciously bewhiskered....And both of Bobby's dads rocked boisterous beards." Full of alliteration and vivid description, the text introduces readers to Ben as he becomes captivated with the assortment and diversity of the stylish beards of his town, including a "bit bedraggled" beard of an old lady but topped by the most significant stubble of his dad. Ben burrows into his investigation by consulting bearded men in the park: "Is it itchy?" "Does it get too warm in the winter?" "Or hot in the summer?" Ben's fascination meets invention as he determines to acquire one, whether it's through bubble bath, peanut butter, or permanent marker. A kid cannot just wait till he's 25 or 26, as his father suggests, to become more like his old man. Remarkably, Dad finds a solution just in time to calm his son's beard fever, trimming his scruff to mirror his son's total lack of fuzz. Weinberg's digitally colored watercolor-and-pencil illustrations bristle with energy, depicting Ben's family as white and locating them in a diverse urban neighborhood (and planting cameo appearances by such bearded lights as Darwin, Malcolm X, Ai Weiwei, and a billy goat gruff, among others). Comically charming, this one-of-a-kind story celebrates the unique bond that connects father, son, and facial hair. A refreshing cut for young readers. (Picture book. 5-9)

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July 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-In this comical homage to facial hair, Flannery uses alliterative and playfully sophisticated language to show a young boy's fascination with faces, particularly bearded ones. The "bewhiskered" baker, barbers, and butcher and other bearded people Ben encounters along the streets in his urban neighborhood are stopped and questioned: "Is it itchy?" "Does food get stuck in it?" Although just a boy, Ben desperately wants a beard because his dad has one. In this funny tale that ends with beard shopping in Ben's friend Bobby's two dads' costume shop, the bond between father and son is shown to be spirited and loving. Weinberg's lively and amusing cartoon-style watercolor and pencil illustrations enhance the good-humored feel of this title. VERDICT A befitting tale for Father's Day and a welcome addition to any collection needing amusing and engaging stories about father-child relationships. Ideal for storytime or for one-on-one sharing.-Brianne Colombo, Pequannock Township Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2016
Grades 1-3 Everywhere Ben looks in his crowded, hipster neighborhood, menand some womensport beards of diverse shape and character. As does his dad, whose reassurance that Ben will have one of his own by the time he is older is no comfort. I don't want to wait until I'm an old man, he wails. I want to look like you now. But when Dad takes that the wrong way and shows up at breakfast clean shaven, Ben is understandably struck with horror: Grow it back. Now. But of course, that can't happen overnight, so the lad ingeniously solves the whole problem by dragging his parent to the costume store (owned by his friend Bobby's bearded dads) to pick out not one but two sets of particularly bodacious clip-on whiskers. Tailor-made for children with a yen to be just like their parental units, this is an inclusive and funny urban alternative to Frank Asch's classic Just like Daddy (1981).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)