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Angleberger, Tom. 2012. Fake Mustache: How Jodie O'Rodeo and her Wonder Horse (and some nerdy kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind. New York: Amulet.

(Advance Reader Copy supplied by publisher)


With another impossibly long title (who can forget last year's hilarious Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset?), Tom Angleberger is ready to unleash another load of laughs on eagerly waiting middle schoolers in Fake Mustache: How Jodie O'Rodeo and her Wonder Horse (and some nerdy kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind.

In retrospect, 7th grader, Lenny Flem, Jr., realizes that he never should have loaned his friend Casper Bengue, the ten dollars to buy the Heidelberg Handlebar Number Seven from Hairsprinkle's own Sven's Fair Price Store.  The mustache, combined with the "man-about-town" suit purchased at Chauncey's Big & Small, Short & Tall Shop, enable a chain of events that threaten the town of Hairsprinkle, the presidential election and especially, Lenny Flem, Jr.  A cast of zany characters, including washed-up teen rodeo queen, Jodie O'Rodeo, fill out this funny, improbable adventure story.

Midway through the story, the first-person narration switches from Lenny to Jodie, so the reader doesn't miss any of the action.  Angleberger's humor can be blatantly obvious, as in the "first-ever billion-dollar bank robbery" "carried out by a gang of strolling accordion players," or hidden away for those who take notice. 

One chapter ends,

"No, thanks," I told the mime. "You clowns can either let us both go or get your heinies kicked.  What'll it be?"
"First of all, I'm not a clown.  I'm a mime.  Second of all, do you really think you can kick the heinies of Hairsprinkle's top ten karate instructors?"
"I only see five."
"Look behind you." 

Alternate Title: Why You Should Always Open Your Mail in a Timely Fashion

So the new job is going very well indeed, but some of my mail is still going down to the Children’s Center.  No biggie.  I stop down there about once a day anyway to pick up holds and the like.  Stopped by yesterday, in fact, and while I was there my old boss pointed out that there was a package for me.  Not a dinky little nothing of a package, mind you, but an immense package roughly the size of a ping-pong table.

“Did you know that was for you?”

Nope.  We took a gander at it and the mystery only deepened.  Written all over it in big letters were words decrying “DO NOT BEND!!” and “THIS SIDE UP!!”

“Who’s it from?”

“Carl Jones.”

Nope.  No idea.  I gave it a glance and then recognized the name.  Not Carl Jones.  Karl Jones.  Karl Jones of the amazing mustache, as written up in my November 1st librarian preview of Penguin Books.  That guy.  Well, shoot.  He was sending me something?  To quote Ren & Stimpy, “Could be something good.  Could be something bad!”

“I wrote about his mustache on my blog,” I explained as we delicately took a box cutter to the tape.  “Maybe what he’s sending me is mustache-related.”  I was joking, of course.  Nothing as big as this box could possibly be tied into facial hair.

Oh, how wrong I was.

You see that?  Yep.  That is a ginormous mustache signed by, insofar as I can tell, every single person at Grosset & Dunlap.  Folks, I don’t usually blog about the stuff I get in the mail because I get a lot of stuff and it’s not fair to highlight one thing over another.  But, guys, there was some serious work put into this ’stache and I gotta give old G&D some credit.  Let’s run through the steps of what took place here.

Step One: G&D notices that I’m bowled over by Karl’s near-handlebar.  He tweets his amusement.  I think that’s the end of it.  Instead, someone at G&D (possibly Karl himself, though I am willing to consider other folks had a hand in the initial planning phase) suggests, “Hey!  Let’s send Betsy the World’s Biggest Foam Mustache as a thank you!”

Step Two: Others agree that this is a good idea.

Step Three: Someone goes out, purchases sturdy black foamy papery stuff (I’m not a crafty librarian so I can’t tell you exactly what it is) along with a thick silver marker.  To make the mustache as large as possible they purchase two huge sheet’s o’ foam with the intention of putting them together.  It’s possible that they had these items lying about the office but somehow I doubt it.  Where do you even get foam that large in New York City anyway?

Step Four: Someone cuts out two rather even and symmetrical sides to the ’stache.  Maybe they mess up and have to redo it on ANOTHER ENTIRELY GIGANTIC PIECE OF BLACK FOAM.  Howsoever they manage it, it works in the end.  Voila.  Two equal halves of the same ’stache.

Step Five: They walk ar

I got invited by Scott over at Born Magazine to create the cover for the 2009 Issue #2 a little while back. The theme is alway loosely based around "birth". I had something similar to this in one of my sketchbooks that had been patiently waiting to be released on the world. After a little inking, careful planning of proportions, and strategic placement of hairs, this is what I ended up with. Check out Born here - http://www.bornmagazine.org/

Prints will be available in the RTD $TORE soon too, so sit tight and dream of all the lonely Mermen that will soon need homes.

rawtoastdesign.com

Adam Rex is growing a mustache to raise money for underfunded schools. I've seen the mustache and it is indeed real... although he prefers that you don't a) tug on it or b) call him Ol' Caterpillar Lip Rex.

Every bit helps. Read about the cool funding projects and donate here.