Bedhead

by Margie Palatini, Jack E. Davis (Illustrator)

It was BIG. It was BAD. It was...BEDHEAD! No doubt about it, Oliver's having a very bad hair day. His parents and sister try to help. They push, they pull, they spritz and they spray; they goop, they glop, and they mousse. But Oliver's hair is still way out of control. And today's class picture day! What's a boy to do? After many unsuccessful attempts to control his unruly hair one morning, Oliver and his family think that they have solved the problem--until he gets to school and finds that it is school picture day.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Writing, School

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedhead has detailed full-spread satirical art and a quirky font with spelled sound effects. The humorous mood of the text and art is stylistically countered by the dark green tinge and frightened expressions suggestive of 'B-movie' film noir. The setting is defined as the time, location, and social environment (www.reference.com). Here, the setting is in the protagonist's home, and at his school posing for a class photo. I read this book aloud in a family clinic waiting room to a five year old girl who selected it by the front cover among three other books. Did she preferred the oversize format with a big face on the front? The art work and the text seemed too cluttered to read easily and make visible from a safe social distance. In thirty pages, a boy awakens upset at his unruly hair. His family is upset and think they cured it with a hat. On the last page the hat flies off and ruins the class picture. The art needs close viewing to be appreciated in detail.

This book is about inclusion due to socially acceptable hygiene, or otherwise, i.e. peer pressure, and the fear and behavior modifications it causes (T.A. Terrell, p.231). The illustrated visual elements of line, shape, and color emphasize faces filled with terror from beginning to end regarding the acceptance of the protagonist's upcoming appearance among peers (T.A. Terrell, p.51-54).

[Amy Groesbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I stumbled upon this book! I can’t wait to use it in my classroom. The story follows Oliver’s attempts to resolve his bed head mishaps. When his family’s suggestions make matters worse, he gives up and conceals his hair under his favorite hat. However, when he gets to school he learns it is picture day and is not allowed to wear his cap in the photo. He’s forced to remove his hat, revealing his bed head. The literary devices and style of writing engage the reader. This book would be beneficial in the classroom as it demonstrates great use of colorful and embellished writing. For example, one sentence reads: “Oliver’s scream shook. It rattled. It rolled all the way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Froot Loops went flying…Two toast toasties did triple back flips on the breakfast table.” There is also great use of description words. Rather than referring to his cap as a hat, it’s called his “faithful, old, battered, but true-blue baseball cap.” This book could also be implemented while teaching adjectives. Bedhead also demonstrates onomatopoeia. Each of these features will help students learn to enhance their own writing.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures were a little busy for a storytime--as well as the story itself. But it still would be a fun read-aloud. The story is just hilarious. Even more so for those of us with outrageoulsy wild untameable hair. Though my hair is fathoms better now as an adult, a childhood of curly hair among adults who only knew how to fix straight here was an utter nightmare every day. Pain. Frizz. Hopelessness. Of course, it was never as bad as poor Oliver's, but the exaggeration in the book is greatly appreciated. So my high rating goes more for the fun-ness of the story and the content of it. Thought the illustrations aren't bad, they're not quite to my taste. But it is a funny book that I think many would enjoy.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 2 out of 5]

When your youngest son, a struggling beginning reader, brings home a book from a library...you read it. You read the book with exaggerated excitement, all the while thinking that you wish you could take his hand through the library with him and choose this book, pull that book off of the shelves for him. Reading it together will remind you why reading a book-any book-is good for both of you, even if you didn't pick it. And you remind yourself that next Tuesday, when that beloved treasure is pulled from his backpack with pride and anticipation, that you once again find the exuberance that mirrors his and enjoy your time together.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny story about a little boy who has a very bad case of bedhead indeed. The narrative is very silly and the illustrations are wild and fun. There's lots of onomatopoeia in the story that make this a good book to read aloud. We enjoyed reading it together.

[Kate Risi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedhead is a hilariously written story about what happens when hair just won’t cooperate. The story follows Oliver’s struggle as he wakes up one morning and has… bed head. But not just any bed head. BAD bed head. Through various trial and error, Oliver ends up making it school, only to find out its picture day. This very funny book is a great read and is sure to engage readers.
For teachers, this book would be great for a class read-aloud text. There is so much opportunity for expressive and animated reading. I could see using this in an elementary school classroom (potentially on picture day!) as a fun way to help students make connections to their own lives. As a middle school teacher, I am excited to use this book as a mentor text for descriptive writing. This book provides a great model of how to expand moments in time using dialogue and exact description. I could even see using this to teach word choice and mood.

[Evan Solis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre – Mystery, Fiction
Grade Level – Kindergarten thru Second
Completed – January 27th, 2019
Unique Feature – Oh no, BEDHEAD! When young Oliver comes down with a bad case of bedhead that just won’t go away what happens when his teacher announces something that makes the day so much worse? Sporting lots of interactive words and onomatopoeia, this story is a great choice for a read aloud.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a boy who wakes up with crazy bed head. How will he get it under control? When everything seems to be finally alright, disaster strikes when it just so happens to be picture day at school.
I think the artwork is kind of weird but otherwise it's kinda funny.

Content:
Language-Geez x1
Sexy stuff/Romance-N/A
Violence-N/A

[Gatto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun story about a child who had dramatic bedhead on school picture day. The hair is unmanageable no matter what people try. The pictures are fun. A classroom could have children write extra scenes with creative methods to fix the child's hair.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone with uncontrollable curls in my younger years and rough hair days as an adult, this story hits home. I loved the extra element of class picture day too. The illustrations are a little dark but overall, a great read aloud for picture day.

[Bri B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book in an IRA. The students really liked this book, they found it funny with the onomatopoeia, and students making inferences was a breeze with this book. students also had a great discussion and written advice to help Oliver with his bedhead.

[BlackhamBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple story, bad hair day ... not too much more to it than that. Lots of fun word play. Alliteration, onomatopoeia, silly similies and detailed descriptions. Ffun fonts and positioning to make the most of the words. The illustrations are a unique style (not "cute" cartoons, fairly busy).

[Jarrett Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kids hair goes crazy. End of story. Easy level inferencing skills. The illustrations are a cross between Steve Lowtwait ("Hey Arnold!") and Tim Burton.

[Tasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book for ages 5-10. Bedhead is about how a boy named Oliver sees something horrible and tries to fix it. This book has themes of humor, mystery, perseverance, and family.

[Serena Prieto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Acquired in a Brighter Vision Learning Adventures package.
A memorable book from my childhood.

[Sara Magnafichi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story, a curly-haired, redheaded boy wakes up to crazy bedhead hear! The struggle is rea, only to find out that it's picture day of all days.

[Kris Kizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

research - not what I was looking for but cute

[Cassie Veselovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who hasn't suffered bedhead?!? This book nails it. Great fun to share before that famous picture day at school!

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny!

[Sheryl Jeshow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite in my classroom collection of books! maybe even a classic.

[Kryslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was humorous and even I was entertained while reading. I like the repetition and the illustrations throughout the book. This made it a fun read even as an adult.

Since the book was set on picture day, it would be a good book to read to children on their school picture day. Questions could be asked about how the students would feel if they had a bad hair day on picture day. It would be good to see the children's reactions.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud!

[Reader Gal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man I remember reading this book almost everyday when I was 8. Now I'm 14 and I have no idea where my copy is but I love this book so much. I'm emotional.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horn Book (Spring 2001)
A natural read-aloud, this rambunctious story chronicles the uproar that occurs when Oliver finds himself the victim of a cataclysmically bad hair day. The caricatured illustrations of Oliver's frantic family and horrified classmates (it's school picture day, of course) have a sickly yellow-green cast, which seems fitting given that part of the untamable coif is described as resembling a "cat's coughed-up fur ball."


Kirkus Reviews (May 15, 2000)
Bell hooks may be Happy to Be Nappy (1999), but young Oliver's glimpse of his morning hair--"going up. Down. Around and around. And there was one teeny tiny clump of hair way at the back of his head that looked just like a cat's coughed.up fur ball"--prompts a shattering scream of dismay. Nothing he or his parents try--not water, not hair spray, not even mousse--has more than a temporary effect, and at last all the "follicly challenged" lad can do is jam a cap on his head before going off to school. Unfortunately, it's Class Picture day . . . Oliver's panic.stricken face, topped with wildly swirling strawberry blond locks, fills Davis's (Mary Louise Loses Her Manners, 1999, etc.) hyperkinetic cartoon scenes, and Palatino (Ding Dong Ding Dong, 1999, etc.) adds plenty of sound effects to this uproarious tale of a truly epic bad hair day. (Picture book. 7.9).


School Library Journal (July 2000)
K-Gr 3-A loud scream from the upstairs bathroom interrupts Oliver's family's breakfast, and an investigation reveals that the boy is suffering from a bad case of "bedhead." "There was hair going this way. Hair going that way. Hair going up. Down. Around and around." His parents and sister try wetting it and spraying it, but nothing works, and Oliver goes off to school wearing his trusty blue baseball cap-a masterful plan, except that it's class picture day. Palatini's lengthy, hilarious text, which appears in jagged frames that suggest the boy's mounting anxiety, is filled with her signature alliteration and familiar expressions like "Been there. Done that," "a done deal," and "Zero. Zilch. Nada." It will take little persuasion to have children chime in on the "B-B-B-BOING!"s every time Oliver's hair does its thing. The zany cartoon-style illustrations, executed in colored pencil, acrylic, dye, and ink, appear on large double-page spreads with small white borders. Many of them depict Oliver's oversized head, hair flying in all directions, and his family trying to effect a cure. From the shocked expression on Oliver's face on the cover and the bathroom-tile-covered endpapers to the scene of the boy's terrible discovery and the wacky remedies that follow, this is a delightful combination of text and pictures that will have readers coming back for more.-Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

[Joey Zadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedhead is a book that I greatly enjoy because just like Oliver in the story, I was also once a young boy with curly and out of control red hair that seemed like it was completely taking over on some mornings! This will be a great book to share with younger elementary students around the age of first grade in a read aloud setting. Margie Palatini uses onomatopoeia a lot throughout this book which makes it so much fun to read aloud to children. The wild voices and noises that I can use while reading this book are sure to keep students engaged and entertained. This book could be read aloud to students on picture day because it provides a hilarious account of Oliver's hair being out of control and ruining the class picture. I can envision reading this to a class of young children and then having them shout something like "Oliver's Hair!" right before the picture to make them all smile! Another more practical use for this book could be to show off some very colorful language, such as: "Oliver's scream shook. It rattled. It rolled all the way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Fruit Loops went flying." The usage of personification here is amazing and can be used to teach the kids about that particular literary element. With these uses and with the fact that this is one book that the children will love to read for entertainment value, this is sure to be a book that I will keep in my classroom in the future!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oliver wakes up and shuffle-shlumps down the hall to the bathroom. He washes his face, and then….he sees it. It was BIG, and BAD, it was….BEDHEAD!!!! His hair was out of control!! “AAAAGGGGHHHHhhhh!!” he yells. Mom, Dad, and his little sister Emily come running!! Mom asks through the door if everything is alright. Then Oliver slowly opens the bathroom door. Mom says, “Nothing can be that….Baaaddd!!!” Yep, it was that bad. “Oliver, my boy, you’re having one bad hair day,” says day. “Total” says Emily. Mom, Dad, and Emily try everything. They push Oliver’s hair to the side, pull it back, wet it, spray it, gooped and glogged it, pinned and brushed it. But nothing helped. Each time it went “Bbbboinnggg!!” Then Oliver spots his hat. Everything is going fine and dandy until he gets to school. “Picture Day!” says the teacher. “Hats off”. Uh-oh. What’s Oliver to do? The cameraman is waiting, the class is waiting, the teacher is waiting. Finally just as the picture is about to snap, Oliver pulls off his hat. Bbb…BOING…Boing! Boing! BBBOING!! Oliver’s hair goes everywhere. Click. The class picture shows the devastation caused by Oliver’s bedhead!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedhead is another great book by Margie Palatini. It is about a boy named Oliver whose bedhead is out of control. Nothing that Oliver's mom, dad or sister can do to tame his hair. Until Oliver see's his true blue baseball cap, but what Oliver doesn't know is that it's picture day! And you cant wear a hat during picture day, so Oliver must take it off. Does Oliver's hair go crazy or does he find a way to tame it? You will have to read to find out!

Palatini use of adjectives truly helps to add to the story. Rather then saying Oliver's hair was tangled, she describes it as a “There was one teeny tiny clump of hair way at the back of his head that looked just like a cat's coughed up fur ball.” By doing this it helps connect to the reader and has them use their imagination about what is happening to Oliver's hair.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hilarious and full of literary devices and figurative language. If you can't find the joy here, you haven't opened the book. Oliver has an incurable case of bedhead, and no amount of brushing, primping, combing, wetting, spraying, gelling, or fussing is going to cure it. Unfortunately, he also has to get his picture taken at school and that where the worst part of the disaster ensues. Despite being able to wear a hat during class without complaint, for the class picture it’s a no-go and that means unveiling his unruly do just as camera flashes. This is the sort of book that anyone can connect to. We’ve all been there. It’s just funnier when it happens to Oliver and Margie Palatini is put in charge of narrating the whole fiasco. Great book. Give it a read.

[Ashley Fischer]

This book I would read to my students on the day of school pictures. It is a humorous book about a boy to goes to school on picture day and can not get his hair to stay down. For lower level elementary students, school pictures are a new experience. This book may help with the nervousness of school pictures. I could also use this book to talk about morning routines and good hygiene. There are also some rhyming words in here. We could also talk about descriptive words and how the font of the text helps to make the story more interesting.

[Oanh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oliver wakes up for school just like any other day except it's not. He discovers he has a seriously bad case of bedhead. "Bedhead" is chock full of various forms and uses of punctuation, onomatopoeia, and descriptive language. This story is a humorous take on a bad hair day gone awry that readers can personally relate to. This book would make a great model text on stylistic writing (ex. spacing out letters to add emphasis; using ellipses to create suspense; using repetition and repeated phrases to add to the story).