I Want My Hat Back
A bear has lost his hat.
What if he never sees it again?
WAIT!
He has seen his hat…
Contains spoilers
The bear has lost his beloved hat. Despairing that he will never see it again, proactive bear decides to ask his woodland neighbours, if they have seen his missing millinery.
One by one the woodland creatures disappoint the bear with their lack of hat knowledge. But not all of Bears informants are being completely honest and it takes a friendly deer to nudge the bear in the right direction.
I was immediately drawn to the earthy tones of the illustrations. While I have nothing against the usual abundance of primary colours and particularly in my house at the moment, overwhelming presence of pink, I found the muted tones and the understated illustrations refreshing.
The illustrations complement the story perfectly, mirroring the stilted, socially polite, awkwardness of the dialog between the characters. This is particularly evident when, by contrast, the bear comes into contact with a genuinely interested deer. Not only is the deer concerned about the bear and wants to help him but it is the first time any of the characters make eye contact.
My two year old, still in the phase of life where everything is either black or white and having not yet developed the ability to lie or bend the truth, doesn’t understand the book at all. The illustrations that delight me with their cleverness, fail to hold his attention.
My daughter (4.5) loved being in on the joke, identifying the location of the hat and the guilty party, long before the bear twigs on. Like her mother she has a dark sense of humour and we laughed together as the bear misses some big clues to the guilty parties identity and when the lying culprit finally gets his just desserts. However, even she missed the finale entirely and believes, despite the bears rather suspicious, unprovoked pronouncement “I would not eat a rabbit”, that the bear extracts his revenge by sitting on the rabbit.
Verdict: A fabulously naughty picture book, more suited to the canny early reader than the black and white pre-schooler.
Reviewed by Caroline
5 Comments
Kathy Wariner
This is a great idea for a book. I think it would be more for a first or second grader. All three of my children went thru the “stretching the truth” around that age. And I love the illustration. “Simple” sticks with you in a world of over stumulation.
Caroline
I completely agree.
Ps. I loved your website!My children were particularly taken with the frogs
Pruedence
Ok I’ve read this book and it’s amazing!!! Absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for suggesting it to me! I may not have kids now but I am sooo getting my hands on a copy of this book!!! muahahaha
Nina @ Death Books and Tea
I’ve seen so many parodies of this (I’ve lost my John, I’ve lost my coat, I’ve lost my daughter etc) but never the original. It’s a very cute idea thatworked well.
Caroline
It’s a great little picture book!