Punk Wig
Narrated by a little boy whose mother has cancer, or what he calls “alien blobs inside her,” Punk Wig features a family who gets through a tough time with flying colors. The color in this case is bright orange, the color of Mom’s, which has spikes on top that look like candle flames. Ries tells the story with a light touch, leavening a scary subject with comic relief (mother and son trying on funny hairpieces before they decide upon Punk Wig). She also focuses on the simple, valuable act of being together and talking as the child pushes Mom on the swing, picks out a pumpkin as orange as Punk Wig, and puts the wig on a snowman mother and child have made. In the spring, Mom gets the results of her tests and offers her son a wonderful punk wig, which he proudly sports on the last page. The appealing watercolors, set mostly against white backdrops, zero in on the people in the story, allowing children to see both a little bit of the mother’s struggle and the happiness and love the mother and child share. Grades K-3. --Abby Nolan