Customer Reviews

Big Bushy Mustache

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 1:47 Mins

Ricky is just like any boy who wants to be like his dad. During the story he learns to have self confidence.

"Big Bushy Mustache" combines text by Gary Soto with illustrations by Joe Cepada. They tell the story of Ricky, a young Latino boy. His teacher is planning to have the class put on a play about Cinco de Mayo, and Ricky will get to wear a costume mustache. But Ricky gets into a jam when he disobeys the teacher's instructions.

This is a fun book with an effective Latino flavor. Ricky is an engaging young hero. However, there is a weird gender identity subtext surrounding Ricky's feelings about the mustache; in my opinion, this aspect of the story is handled awkwardly. Otherwise this is a good choice for a multicultural collection of children's books.

I really enjoyed this book as it follows a young boy who wishes he had a mustache like his father. The book introduces some spanish words such as, bigote (mustache). The story line is a bit odd but it is an overall fun book that is full of multiculturalism that children seem to enjoy. The illustrations go with the text nicely. I would recommend this book for children 3 years of age and older.

It seems like a cute story at first. But, when the boy disobeys his teacher and sneaks the fake mustache home and loses it, his parents replace it - not with another fakey, but a REAL one! And if the enabling isn't bad enough, how-the-heck does the father get his mustache off in one piece??!! Images of scalping come to mind, and that's kind of freaky. I kept hoping my 2nd grade students wouldn't ask about this, but I tried to be prepared, just in case. Something like, "kids, the moral of the story is, if you don't want your father to lose his upper lip, better listen to your teacher!"