I'm looking for one of MY favorite books of childhood called "The Silly Book." I've read David Sullivan's review and the review from a reader from California and I'm not sure what to think. MY "The Silly Book" featured a character named Boodleheimer and including entries like "Boodleheimer, Boodleheimer, rah, rah, rah! Boodleheimer, Boodleheimer, rah, rah, rah! The more you Boodle, the less you Heimer! The more you Heimer, the less you Boodle! Boodleheimer, Boodleheimer, rah, rah, rah!" Does this ring a bell for anyone? Is this Mr. Sullivan's "The Silly Book", the reader from California's "The Silly Book", or none of the above? I'd really like to find this book! If you know where I can find it please e-mail my at jmy856@aol.com. Thanks!

I ordered this book based on Mr. Sullivan's review in part. I thought it was my favorite silly book from childhood, the one that has "I am silly, you are silly, all of us are silly, Willy, all of us but cousin Tilly...." etc. But NO! This book is a Picture Book with Silly pictures. I might call it "a silly book" but I wouldn't call it "THE silly book." For young kids.

For all of you looking for that favorite book "The Silly Book", join my club (not literally). The book that has the ode to Boodleheimer was written by Stoo Hample not Babette Cole. I have been searching for this book for years. Good luck everyone, and let me know if you find an extra copy for sale!

My 6 year-old-child just recently picked this book out from the juvenile section of our local library. I always look at the covers to make sure the book is going to be age approbriate. The cover of this book is extremely misleading. 'A Book About Puberty' is in the bottom righthand corner--in much smaller print--not highly visible. In fact, the last eight adults I have shown this book to, did not notice this part of the title. It wasn't until the following morning, when I noticed the abscence of my eight-year-old daughter, who happened to be 'just finishing' the book, that I realized the contents of this book. 'Graphic' is an understatement! This animated book addresses the stages of puberty for boys and girls. Nude, detailed, drawings are throughout the book. We still cannot figure out what the nude young male-admiring himself in front of a full length mirror-is holding in his hand. Cole's depiction of 'Mr. and Mrs. Hormone' is frightening! Before knowing about the contents, my six-year-old daughter read this [before my older daughter] and asked if her hormones looked like the ones in the book. I tried to explain to her that they did not and that this personification was very inapprobriate. My older daughter wants to know what was 'growing big and small [on the boy in his bed] and 'what the sticky stuff was?'. Yes, I got myself into this situation! I trusted the judgement of my local library! I will not make this mistake again. In my opinion, this book is not approbriate for any child under the age of 13. A topic like puberty needs to be discussed on a more honest/truthful level. While teaching,I could not read Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are to my first graders. Parents told me afterwards that their child/children were frightened by the monsters. The hormone's characterized in this book are many times more frightening then the monsters in Where the Wild Things Are! Parents of young children DO NOT PURCHASE this book!!

Hair in Funny Places tells the story of puberty. Typical of most young children, a little girl asks her teddy bear when she will become a 'grown-up.' The teddy bear tells her what happens when Mr. and Mrs. Hormone, tiny creatures who live inside everyone, mix the potions that turn kids into 'grown ups.' By using the girl's parents as an example, the teddy bear goes through the various physical and emotional changes that each respectively went through to become adults. The teddy bear then tells the girl about the "wildest potion of all" - love potion, which brought her parents together. The story ends when the girl assures her teddy bear that even when she is grown up she will always love him. While Cole's objectives may have been to present puberty playfully and comfortably with her fun pictures and light-hearted tone, her story is a gross misrepresentation of the truth about puberty and could give children many wrong impressions. First of all, the girl learns about puberty from her teddy bear - not her parents, who should be the ones to teach her. Because she depends on a stuffed animal to tell her the facts of life, this could discourage children from feeling comfortable confiding in their parents. Cole's portrayal of Mr. and Mrs. Hormone adds to the unnecessary mystery and intrigue of puberty. Mr. and Mrs. Hormone are hairy, pimply characters with horns - kind of a combination between a porcupine, bug, and mad scientist. It seems that these mischievous, insidious looking creatures have nothing better to do than plot to thwart a child's life with potion. Mr. and Mrs. Hormone could cause further confusion for children when they create their crazy love potion. The picture at this point shows the girl's mother and father running wildly at each other, as if being driven by an uncontrollable force. This idea cheapens the idea of love by insinuating that it is simply a byproduct of our hormones. Finally, the story's ending further separates children from discussing these issues with their parents when the young girl exclaims, "On no, Ted, you are so wise, I will always love you." There is so much potential to encourage children/parent relationships at this point, but instead Cole chooses to end the story in the world of make believe where wise stuffed animals take the place of loving parents.