MAXWELL THE MONKEY BARBER

“Come to Maxwell’s Barbershop! / For a trim or for a chop!”

This monkey barber is up to any tonsorial challenge. First, a baboon swings in with locks so lengthy a mouse, cardinal, parrot, toucan, tiger kitten, koala, warthog, crocodile, zebra, and hippo have taken up residence! “After many snips it’s less a home / and more a place to run a comb.” Next comes a lion with an untamed mane. Maxwell works his magic and says, as he does to all his customers, “And before you go, might I say, / Your hair’s the best I’ve seen today!” After trimming a bear’s beastly beard, a sad, bald elephant arrives. What can Maxwell do to warm the poor pachyderm’s cold noggin? After a night of thinking, he comes up with the perfect solution. Canadian author/illustrator Atkinson’s sprightly, enthusiastic monkey barber will please readers as much as he does his customers. The bright, colorful illustrations are full of action and expressive animals and dotted with dialogue bubbles that advance the rhyme. Fun for a jungle or a hairy storytime or as bibliotherapy for tots scared of the barber. (The bewigged elephant’s unfortunate resemblance to Donald Trump may take some readers aback, but that association may fade over time.)

Atkinson’s jungle denizens will easily charm one and all.