Cabin Head and Tree Head
by Scott Campbell; illus. by the author
Primary, Intermediate    Tundra    88 pp.
9/25    9781774885055    $13.99

This graphic-novel series opener is a collection of short stories about two creatures distinguished by the cabin and the tree, respectively, on the tops of their heads. In the first story, “HELLOS,” Cabin Head and Tree Head run around greeting other similar beings, introducing us to a world of characters including Fountain Head, Mail Truck Head, and (sure to elicit giggles) Outhouse Head. Illustrations in soft watercolors with a typeface based on Campbell’s hand lettering anchor the wacky concept. Other stories focus on Cabin Head painting portraits, Tree Head digging for treasure, and Cabin Head and Tree Head circumnavigating the Earth, walking backward to avoid having to say goodbye to each other. The humor is a mix of gentle and absurd. Humans live in the objects on the tops of the characters’ heads, and children will enjoy noticing, for instance, the man sweeping the porch on Cabin Head and the child swinging in the tire swing on Tree Head. The stories themselves are classic buddy tales in the vein of Marshall’s George and Martha or Ruzzier’s Fox + Chick: low-stakes adventures between friends. It’s a winning formula that rewards rereading.

From the November/December 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.