Scritch Scratch (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Delphine Durand (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Taking a humorous approach to an embarrassing problem, this book turns the (literally) nitty-gritty into something witty. When a tiny head louse sneaks into the classroom, it makes straight for Ms. Calypso, the teacher, and her enormous red mane of "cascading curls." Soon the whole class is scritching and scratching. The principal, Mr. Trout, asks parents to apply special conditioner to the children's hair, but the little pests come right back. It turns out Ms. Calypso lives alone and has no one to help treat her tresses. Mr. Trout gallantly offers, and the two fall in love, for an almost happily-ever-after ending. Moss (previously teamed with Durand for The Snoops) includes plenty of solid information as well as loopier touches (as the louse lays eggs, it sings, "Watch the teacher scritch and scratch, When my creepy, crawly babies hatch"). Durand's cartoon humans have Mr. Potato Head features and toothy, ear-splitting grins. The classroom is realistically littered with bookbags, flying paper airplanes, toy cars, etc., and the children pester one another endlessly: "Ruby undid Polly's braid. Joshua painted on Peter's back. And Sammy trimmed Mark's bangs." Zippy graphics add lots of dash to an already funny text; the paths of lice are indicated with dotted lines and arrows, type fonts shift for emphasis, and passages of text appear under, over and around the spreads and vignettes. Moss and Durand win high marks for their potent combination of comedy and candor. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-This book pokes good-humored fun at every parent's perpetual school-year dread-head lice. When a mama louse crawls into Ms. Calypso's classroom, she immediately makes a home in the teacher's cascading red locks. The eggs hatch and soon all of her students are infected. Mr. Trout, the principal, and the teacher send notes home, instructing parents to comb a special conditioner through their children's hair so that the lice will slide into the bath water and float away. This works for the children, but Ms. Calypso lives alone and has no one to help her comb the solution through her hair. The original louse stays there and soon the entire class is scritch-scratching again. The school sends home another note and Mr. Trout offers to help Ms. Calypso wash her hair. They fall in love, get married, and there's no more scratching in Mrs. Trout's classroom. Moss portrays head-lice infestations as a problem that can affect anyone: teachers and students, boys and girls. Durand's humorous cartoon illustrations depict a mother louse sporting a pink bow, gleefully singing and running with her beige eggs in two of her six hands. The diverse classroom is full of many different types of hair-braids, curls, and crew cuts. While the very idea may make some readers slightly squirmy, Scritch Scratch makes light of a "lousy" subject. This is wacky back-to-school fare.
Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard; 1st edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439368359
• ISBN-13: 978-0439368353
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 10.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #439,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zany drawings and a rollicking story line, January 11, 2003

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

A tiny insect craws into a classroom and soon the whole class is scratching. It's hard to imagine how a picturebook on head lice can be whimsical and fun, but even parents who have suffered through an outbreak will find the zany drawings and rollicking story line to be fun.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uh-Oh, Itchy Head....., November 22, 2002

By	Roz Levine (Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"One day a tiny insect, no bigger than a freckle, crawled into Ms. Calypso's classroom. Nobody noticed..." She took a look around, saw Ms Calypso's "cascading curls," dove through the air, and landed, making a nice little home for herself and her tiny eggs. Pretty soon Ms Calypso began to scritch scratch, and soon her entire class was scritching and scratching as the head-lice scampered from head to head to head. Mr Trout, the principal, sent a note home: "Please comb special conditioner through your children's hair and make it so slippery that all the head lice slide into the bath water and float away." The treatment worked perfectly. "There was not a single louse in sight. They were all gone. Well, all except one!" Poor Ms Calypso lived alone, and had no one to help her condition and comb, and soon, the whole class was scritching and scratching all over again. This time Mr Trout sent the note home, and then volunteered to help Ms Calypso with her hair. They fell in love and got married, and there hasn't been a scritch or a scratch ever since...well at least not in Mrs Trout's room..... It's hard to believe that anyone could author an appealing story about head-lice infestation, but Miriam Moss and illustrator, Delphine Durand seem to have accomplished the impossible. Ms Moss' engaging and entertaining text takes the mystery and stigma out of the head-lice issue, as she shows that anyone can be a victim. Ms Durand's bold, bright, and busy cartoon-like illustrations enhance the story, and are filled will expression, vibrant color, playful humor and eye-catching detail. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Scritch Scratch is a clever, funny romp that takes a lousy topic and makes light of it with fact instead of fiction.

1.0 out of 5 stars Disgusting, January 23, 2008

By	Trina (Olathe, KS) - See all my reviews

My two year old son picked this book up at a used bookstore and I failed to look at the title, let alone the subject. This is absolutely repulsive. After trying to give it away with no luck, I threw it in the recycle bin.