Bad Hair Day

Bad Hair Day
Author	Sarah Mlynowski
Illustrator	Helen Huang
Published on	April 29, 2014
Published by	Scholastic Inc.
ISBN	978-0545627283
Books in Chronological Order
Preceded By	Dream On
Followed by	Cold as Ice

Bad Hair Day is the fifth book in the Whatever After series, written by Sarah Mlynowski. It was published in April 29, 2014.

Synopsis

Hair today, gone tomorrow...

When my brother and I end up in the story of Rapunzel, we can’t resist climbing her hair. But her smooth locks suddenly look like they’ve been attacked by a cheese grater due to my annoying brother's soccer cleats. Tell me again WHY he wore them up Rapunzel's hair ? Maybe a trim will help... Snip, snip, SNIP. .... Uh oh... Now Rapunzel’s hair is WAY too short and we’re trapped in a tiny tower with a veggie loving witch after us!

So we have to:

• Find the tower’s secret door
• Avoid getting swallowed by a giant spider
• Locate Pickles (aka the prince)
• Reunite Rapunzel with her parents

If we don’t untangle this knotty tale soon, we could be stuck in this mess for good!

Preview

To read the first chapter, click here.

Storyline

After Abby comes in 9th place in the fifth grade spelling bee, she worries she is no longer smart. Penny calls her a crybaby. Abby is in no mood to go through their magic mirror, but when Jonah wants to do it she can't let him go by himself. They fall through the mirror with Prince and land in the story of Rapunzel.

Jonah ruins Rapunzel's hair by climbing it while wearing soccer cleats, then Abby cuts off most of it by trying to give it a trim.

Rapunzel tells them her special hair was "all I had" and now that there is nothing special about her, the prince won't fall in love with her. Additionally, without Rapunzel's long hair there is no way to escape her tower. Rapunzel tells Frau Gothel she cut her own hair off because "I was hot."

They find a secret hatch and escape the tower. They also begin to suspect that Frau Gothel isn't actually a witch. Rapunzel explains they are in the kingdom of Glimmer, a source of many jewels. They hail a horse taxi, or "haxi," and the fare is one sapphire, but as they are jewel-less Abby barters her wristwatch for a ride to the palace.

The palace is made of gemstones. There is a five-day wait in line to see the prince, as he is giving gems to the neediest. Rapunzel calms a baby with a song, and the mother lets them borrow her carriage. Rapunzel remembers that her parents lived on Spellington Lane, next to Frau Gothel's farm where every animal was named after a plant.

Abby suspects that Frau Gothel's powers actually come from her plants. While exploring her farm, Jonah and Prince snack on various plants and both turn blue. Meanwhile Rapunzel knocks on the door of the house her parents lived in and is turned away. Distraught, she leaves on her own back to her tower.

Abby, Jonah, and Pickles go to the tower to get Rapunzel, and they are there when the prince arrives. They ask him to listen to Rapunzel sing. Rapunzel sings while the prince plays the flute. The prince wants to meet Rapunzel but Rapunzel thinks she isn't special without her hair. The prince says he knows Rapunzel's parents and they are desperately searching for her. Just then, Frau Gothel's tarantula traps them all in a web. Rapunzel puts it to sleep with a lullaby. Rapunzel loses her sight but is cured by Jonah's tears. Frau Gothel is captured and admits that only her herbs are magical. Everyone uses herbs to reverse their spells.

The prince and Rapunzel are in love, but she refuses his marriage proposal, because now that she's out of her tower she wants to explore. The prince doesn't want to live in his castle either, so they start a touring band called Pickles and Rapunzel. Abby, Jonah, and Prince use Frau Gothel's garden as a portal to return home to Smithville, where their parents have noticed them missing and called the police. Abby has to promise them she won't go to the basement in the middle of the night. Abby realizes that the lesson Rapunzel learned can apply to her: "maybe sometimes the thing you think you need -- the thing you think makes you special -- isn't really that important. Like being a spelling bee champion."

Appearances

Characters

• Abby
• Jonah
• Rapunzel
• Frau Gothel
• Prince Tristan
• Prince
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon
• Haxi Driver
• The mother who Abby and Jonah met while waiting for the prince.

Locations

• Glimmer
• Rapunzel's Tower
• Spellington Lane
  • Frau Gothel's house
  • Rapunzel's old house

Objects

• Abby's Watch
• Prince Tristan's Horse
• The mother's horse.
• Frau Gothel's herbs
• The mother's child.
• The mother's carriage.

Gallery