The Magic Mustache

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A nose who lives with his parents, two eyes, goes to the market to trade the family's prized pair of eyeglasses for some much-needed food.Instead, he makes a trade with an old ear for a magic mustache that grows a beard that reaches to the sky. The nose climbs the beard, just as Jack, from "Jack and the beard talk," did before him. After two successful journeys in which he steals a golden toothbrush and a magic straw, the nose narrowly escapes the hungry giant mouth with a magic harmonica in tow. All ends well as the various body parts tumble to the ground and form a face (not unlike Mr. Potato Head). Amazingly, the author pulls it all off quite nicely, making the events sound somehow perfectly logical. The text exudes a partly irreverent, partly earnest tone and incorporates lots of wordplay. Appropriately, the art is pure silliness. The watercolor, gouache, and pen-and-ink illustrations show a nose with spindly arms and legs, a baseball cap, sweat socks, and high tops. He plays with his little red wagon, climbs down a ladder, peeks into a soup pot, and engages in all types of human behavior. The playful layout, with lines of type that rise and dip across the pages, adds to the fun. A delightfully wacky romp.
Denise E. Agosto, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
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