Wilfred by Ryan Higgins (review)

Poor Wilfred—a goggle-eyed, hairy giant—is lonely until he discovers a town full of bald people, including a little boy who is not only unafraid of Wilfred but actually enjoys his company. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship until the bald adults of the town gang up on Wilfred and demand his hair; Wilfred generously obliges, and the bald people shave him bare and make his hair into wigs for themselves. When the worried boy searches for Wilfred, he gets lost in a blizzard, and Wilfred selflessly saves him, curling his big, hairless body around the boy in the snow. Chastened by Wilfred's heroism, the townspeople soon gather up the wigs and sew them together into a big hairy suit: "And that's how Wilfred came to have a zipper, a smile, and a very best friend." The sacrificial lengths to which Wilfred will go to make friends recall the The Giving Tree, but this is a far more lighthearted tale, and the oddball friendship between the Muppet-like Wilfred and the little boy is sure to please young readers. Cartoonist Higgins' zany ink linework filled in with digital colors provide much of the book's visual humor as they depict the Wilfred's interactions with others: he overenthusiastically tries to join the bald children's play, arms up and grin wide, while they (except the boy) run away in open-mouthed horror. Squiggly, energetic linework and townspeople who resemble wide-eyed versions of Mr. Magoo reflect the story's wacky, absurd tone. Pull this out to perk up an otherwise ordinary day, but be advised that every kid is going to want a "Wilfred" afterwards; a crafty adult with a sewing machine, some fake fur, and a pair of oversized googly eyes might be able to oblige.