Head Lice, by Elise Gravel

So I guess if there have to be head lice in the world, we might as get a laugh out of them.  Elise Gravel portrays the head louse as a cute and friendly creature in Head Lice, another addition to her Disgusting Creature series.  I found it to be very informative, and can definitely see its usefulness in teaching young children about head lice.  Readers will learn that head lice feed on human blood, live in and lay eggs in human hair, but can only travel from head to head by contact, or by catching a ride on a shared hat or clothes.

The head louse.
The epitome of cute and friendly.

Like the other Disgusting Creatures books, Head Lice would benefit from some photographs or more realistic drawings of head lice, at least as an appendix.  I would also like to have seen more advice for dealing with lice.  "Next time you see a head louse . . . RUN AWAY!" is a bit lacking.

Gravel's Head Lice is funny, the illustrations are eye-catching, and kids will actually learn something!  Every teacher will want this to be a part of his or her class reading time, head lice outbreak or not.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!