cover image The Man Who Lost His Head

The Man Who Lost His Head

Claire Huchet Bishop, , illus. by Robert McCloskey. . New York Review Books, $14.95 (64pp) ISBN 978-1-59017-332-9

Out of print for more than 25 years, Bishop and McCloskey's unusual story about—well, the title says it all—is back. Awakening sans his head, the man at the center of the tale tries to remember where he left it (“It is very hard once you have lost your head”), then ventures forth to try to find it, substituting a pumpkin, a parsnip, and finally a wooden facsimile in the meantime (helpful, yes; undeniably unsettling, too). The solution is as madcap as the rest of the story, which was originally published in 1942, but the prose and Caldecott winner McCloskey's deliciously crisp artwork are evergreen. Ages 4–8. (Dec.)