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The Squishiness of Things
One tiny little hair can ruin everything--especially for a genius. And Hieronymus is no ordinary genius. He knows everything under the sun--from the squishiness of bugs to the bounciness of sausage. And he likes it that way.
Then a single hair blows through the window, a hair that fails to match any of the thirty-six million hairs in his collection. What is Hieronymus to do? Search for the origin of the hair, of course! And that's a quest that leads him to some very unusual places--and surprising discoveries.
The Squishiness of Things is a hilarious, charming, and gorgeously illustrated tale of wisdom and foolishness sure to tickle the funny bone and capture the imagination.
From the Hardcover edition.
Then a single hair blows through the window, a hair that fails to match any of the thirty-six million hairs in his collection. What is Hieronymus to do? Search for the origin of the hair, of course! And that's a quest that leads him to some very unusual places--and surprising discoveries.
The Squishiness of Things is a hilarious, charming, and gorgeously illustrated tale of wisdom and foolishness sure to tickle the funny bone and capture the imagination.
From the Hardcover edition.
40 pages, Library Binding
First published July 12, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 13, 2011
The cover alone moved me to purchase this book, about the search by a 'great thinker' to discover the source of a single strand of hair. It could perhaps be subtitled, "The Hairiad", as it takes on the aura of adventure peculiar to Homer. Irony and wit is enveloped within the writing, and the art is simply wonderful.
"You know about the saltiness of ink and the bounciness of sausage". Well, I do now, thanks to this beautiful book.
Book Season = Winter
"You know about the saltiness of ink and the bounciness of sausage". Well, I do now, thanks to this beautiful book.
Book Season = Winter
May 22, 2022
2.5 stars:: I THINK the entire point of this book is "know thyself" but I don't really know. The illustrations are interesting but the story was boring and took too long to get to the point. Maybe I'm just not the intended audience or I am just COMPLETELY missing something. It's certainly possible...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2012
This book would be best for upper elementary to middle school students. It is about a so-called scientists who has studied everything from the squishiness of bugs, to tha amount of salt in ink, and much more. He even has a collection of hairs from every species known to man. However, one day he finds a hair that is unknown to him and searches all over the land. In the end, he realizes, that he hardly even knows himself. The story has a great message that we need to get to know ourselves before we can know everything there is to know!
February 28, 2012
This book is a longer and more challenging read better suited for second grade and above. The story follows Hieronymus as he searches to discover the origin of a hair that is not in his collection. This book would be good read a science lesson to introduce students to designing ways to test their questions of the word to find answers.
November 7, 2023
Marc Kompaneyets is an artist. I've seen many beautiful but shallow and stuttering picture books and animated shorts made by artists who thought they didn't need an author. This is not one of them! MK can write. He has a great sense of comedic timing, and a fine sense of the balance between too-subtle and over-the-top needed when writing ironic humor. (That might sound strange, given that the /events/ are all completely over-the-top. But the /words/ come from the perspective of someone to whom the events are all perfectly reasonable.)
The art is far above the usual level for a picture-book. The close-up of Hieronymus' face when he realizes whose hair he is holding is one of those pictures worth a thousand words--this is the story's climax, and the very realistic and recognizable delineation of his surprise dramatizes it in an instant, more-thoroughly than I think could be done with any number of words.
The story is funny and entertaining taken at face value. I doubt any children will grasp its theme. The book says its theme is to know yourself, but I think it is more specifically an indictment of advanced math and empirical science, which both accumulate facts without yet knowing what use they might be. I disagree with that theme. It isn't wrong; but the delegitimization of science, and the elevation instead of rationalism, has been taken to destructive extremes in America today. So I would hesitate to give this book to young children. But I will gladly share it with anyone mature enough to recognize its meaning and engage with it consciously, and especially with scientists who are able to laugh at themselves.
The art is far above the usual level for a picture-book. The close-up of Hieronymus' face when he realizes whose hair he is holding is one of those pictures worth a thousand words--this is the story's climax, and the very realistic and recognizable delineation of his surprise dramatizes it in an instant, more-thoroughly than I think could be done with any number of words.
The story is funny and entertaining taken at face value. I doubt any children will grasp its theme. The book says its theme is to know yourself, but I think it is more specifically an indictment of advanced math and empirical science, which both accumulate facts without yet knowing what use they might be. I disagree with that theme. It isn't wrong; but the delegitimization of science, and the elevation instead of rationalism, has been taken to destructive extremes in America today. So I would hesitate to give this book to young children. But I will gladly share it with anyone mature enough to recognize its meaning and engage with it consciously, and especially with scientists who are able to laugh at themselves.
November 4, 2018
A whimsical story about a scientist who wants to know everything about everything. He shortens ages trying to find a match for a single stand of hair that blew into his house. Only when he gives up on his search does he discover that it was a hair from his own head.
Don't really know what the moral would be for this story would be but it was an interesting read. Enjoyed the illustrations.
Don't really know what the moral would be for this story would be but it was an interesting read. Enjoyed the illustrations.
January 16, 2018
Beautiful pictures and a truly wonderful story.
June 28, 2020
Well, that was annoying
August 25, 2016
I feel like this message could have been better achieved without the silliness. There are real world examples that would do the same thing. The various peoples visited (akin to Gulliver's Lilliputians, et al.) are not exploited to the fullest.
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October 21, 2010Pretty illustrations, coy & derivative story about Hieronymus trying to find the origin of a hair.
December 16, 2013
A gorgeously illustrated satire on the search for knowledge. A weird but oddly satisfying children's book, possibly more fun for the adult reading it than it will be for the kid.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews