The Magic Mustache

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

In this tongue-in-cheek parody of the old fairy-tale classic Jack and
the Beanstalk, the venerable Jack has been replaced by a nose, who lives
with two poverty-stricken eyes. One day, when there is nothing left to
eat, the eyes send the nose out to barter their only possession (a pair
of glasses) for some food. The nose, of course, runs into a couple of
sharp traders—two ears—who convince him to trade the glasses for a
“magic mustache.” When the nose gets home, the eyes are outraged and
throw the mustache out the window. In the morning, the nose and the eyes
look out the window to see that the mustache has grown up overnight into
a mighty beard. If you want to know what is waiting for the nose when he
climbs the beardstalk, buy the book.

Good parody is a difficult art. This one is a success story. The author
climbs way out on a shaky limb and manages to hang on through sheer
audacity and hilarious word plays: “‘I’ve never heard of a talking
beard before,’ the nose said. ‘Well, you noses don’t often listen.
You usually look down on us beards.’” Stéphane Jorisch’s
illustrations are equally outrageous. The Magic Mustache will be enjoyed
by young and old alike. Highly recommended.