Story will appeal to children - Mister Spears and his Hairy Ears

10/12/2015 - a Flaxflower Review

 

Mister Spears and his Hairy Ears
by Dawn McMillan
Illustrations by Ross Kinnaird

   A story to appeal to children with a fascination with extreme or aberrant bodily parts or functions. I guess that means most, perhaps all, kids.
     Mister Spears’ problem, as the title tells, is that he has hairy ears. He doesn’t just have hairy ears in the way he might have a hairy chin. Not just a modicum of hair growing on the exterior, oh no. He suffers from ear hair. Extreme ear hair. Mister Spears’ ears sprout hair from within. Long, prolific, and apparently super fast-growing, for rather than just trimming it as it appears, he has to resort to extraordinary methods to control it.
     Dawn McMillan, a Coromandel writer, tells the tale in verse form. The rhyming pattern and metre are not strict so the reader, whether parent or child, has to adapt as the story unrolls.
     The colourful illustrations by Ross Kinnaird are very appealing. Younger children can spend some time enjoying these and following recurring motifs through the book.
    Quality glossy paper makes this a good-looking book that should be enjoyed by children up to about eight years old.

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Review by Emily R

Title: Mister Spears and his Hairy Ears
Author: Dawn McMillan, Illustrations by Ross Kinnaird
Publisher: Libro International
ISBN: 978-1-877514-84-5
Available: Bookshops