The Girl With The Bird S Nest Hair

A delightful cautionary tale about hairbrushing as one girl's love of birds becomes something of a major problem

Franny B. Kranny refuses to cut her wild hair, despite her family's insistence, and wears a bird in her hair to a family reunion.

Diana tends bar at Queequeg's Tavern, where she meets Pete, a recent retiree always ready with a joke, and Jeb, a homeless student driven by a poet's Romantic aspirations. Tangled up in a history of the family blues, she sometimes takes refuge in a church she can't decide to join for good. Tom, the manager of a video store near the tavern, is settling into a new marriage with Helen, an adult film producer wealthy enough to save Tom's store from impending doom. But when a figure from his past walks through the door, who will save his marriage? Who will help whom as this nest of birds unravels?

In this debut collection, Anna Journey invites the reader into her peculiar, noir universe nourished with sex and mortality. Her poems are haunted by demons, ghosts, and even the living who wander exotic landscapes that appear at once threatening and seductive. In these poems, her sly speaker renames a pink hibiscus on display at Lowe's, "Lucifer's Panties"; another character chants, "I'd fall devil / over heels over edge over oleander"; and one woman writes a letter to the underworld: Dear black bayou, once, by a river I bit a man's neck. His scent: the raw teak air husked inside stomachs of six Russian nesting dolls--the ones in the attic I pulled apart and open. The ones I pulled apart and open like Styrofoam cups.

“A wonderfully silly story . . . Harry learns the value of good grooming habits . . . delightful depictions of Harry and his outrageous hair.” —Foreword Reviews Harry hates brushing his hair, but when two doves decide to build a nest in his tangled mop, he has bigger problems than just avoiding an annoying comb. As Harry’s hair continues to grow more and more tangled, a tree begins to grow right out of his head! The tree attracts more birds before their singing starts to drive Harry crazy. Thankfully, his mom comes to the rescue with a solution, but not before Harry learns a big lesson about the importance of keeping himself and his hair neat and tidy. “Le’s rich colors and sweeping lines make each vignette a pleasure to savor. Alternating dark and light backgrounds, she expresses humor and frustration as needed . . . This brief, fanciful cautionary tale is made sumptuous by the fascinating painting compositions. Perfect for storytime or one-on-one sharing.” —School Library Journal “The boy with the big hair is the perfect fit for my 4-year-old grandson who hates haircuts . . . The pictures are beautiful and my grandson really enjoys the book.” —Chatting over Coffee

Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terrors of residential schools. At school Margaret soon encounters the Raven, a black-cloaked nun with a hooked nose and bony fingers that resemble claws. She immediately dislikes the strong-willed young Margaret. Intending to humiliate her, the heartless Raven gives gray stockings to all the girls — all except Margaret, who gets red ones. In an instant Margaret is the laughingstock of the entire school. In the face of such cruelty, Margaret refuses to be intimidated and bravely gets rid of the stockings. Although a sympathetic nun stands up for Margaret, in the end it is this brave young girl who gives the Raven a lesson in the power of human dignity. Complemented by archival photos from Margaret Pokiak-Fenton’s collection and striking artworks from Liz Amini-Holmes, this inspiring first-person account of a plucky girl’s determination to confront her tormentor will linger with young readers.

When Bintou, a little girl living in West Africa, finally gets her wish for braids, she discovers that what she dreamed for has been hers all along.

Various zoo animals take residence in a young girl's hair as it becomes more tangled and frizzy.