Mustache Baby (Mustache Baby)

From mustache parties to Movember, upper lip hair is the accessory du jour, and why should babies be left out of the fun? When Billy is born with a mustache, a helpful nurse tells his folks, "You'll just have to wait and see whether it is a good-guy mustache or a bad-guy mustache." As Billy graduates to toddlerdom, his mustache appears to be a force for good: as a "man of the law" (complete with reflective sunglasses and badge), Billy "stopped speeders... outlawed poker... and caught thieves red-handed," writes Heos (Stronger Than Steel). Never mind that his actions are completely annoying and disruptive to his siblings. When Billy's mustache begins to grow and curl, it leads him into "a life of dreadful crime," requiring jail time (or crib time, anyway) to straighten him out. Ang (I Will Not Read This Book) has a blast portraying Billy as hero, villain, and everything in between (with facial hair worthy of Tom Selleck or Snidely Whiplash, as needed); her digital illustrations have the warmth of acrylic painting, and the book's oddball sense of humor is unflagging. Ages 4-8. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (May)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 1--This nonsense picture book is about a baby who is born with a mustache. As Billy grows up, the mustache informs his various identities: cowboy, ringleader, Spanish painter, sword fighter, and man of the law. But then, it grows and curls and becomes a bad-guy mustache. Billy then becomes a cereal criminal, a bank robber, and a cat burglar, and gets thrown in jail. Fortunately, his parents are able to reassure him that everyone has a bad-mustache day. Billy becomes a good guy again and scoots off to play with his new neighbor, a little bearded guy. Digitally rendered illustrations are saturated matte cartoons. For the most part, they mirror the text, although the humor is often in the contradictions; while the narrator claims that "everyone loved having Officer Billy around," for example, his sister and brother glare at him for ruining their play. Quirky, silly fun.--Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Winner of the 2017 Colorado Children's Book Award

"You never know what you'll get in the delivery room, and something isn't quite right with this new baby. . . . Heos's offbeat tale muses on the possibilities, playing off parental hope and panicky nightmares." —New York Times Book Review

"[This] book bristles with appealing humor." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books