I Want My Hat Back. By Jon Klassen. Illus. by the
author. 2011.40p. Candlewick, $15.99(9780763655983)
Format: Hardcover
Age Group: PreS-Gr.2
Age Group: PreS-Gr.2
Genre:Fiction
Awards:Theodor Seuss
Geisel Beginning Reader Honor
E.B. White Read
Aloud Award
Colorado
Children's Book Award Nominee
E.B. White
Read-Aloud Picture Book finalist
Bank Street
Irma Black Awards
Cooperative
Children's Book Center Choices List
Texas 2x2
Reading List Selection
ALA Notable
Children's Books
New York Public
Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
CYBIL Award -
Shortlist
Horn Book
Fanfare, The
New York Times
Book Review Notable Books of the Year
Publishers
Weekly Best Books of the Year
New York Times
Book Review 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books
Subjects/Themes:Lost and found possessions, Bears, Hats
ELS promoted:Print motivation, narrative skills, print awareness
Annotation:
A bear almost gives up looking for his hat
until he remembers something important.
Reactions/Observations:
Klassen is known for his
illustrations in other books. His first story depicts a bear’s search for his
lost red hat. He questions every animal he encounters—the fox, frog, rabbit
with a familiar red hat, turtle, snake, and armadillo. Each one answering that
they had not seen his hat. The bear finally lies on the floor in defeat when a
reindeer walks by to ask what’s wrong. The bear shares his dilemma and
describes his hat, only to trigger a memory of seeing his hat! He knows who
took it! He runs back to rabbit. With tense glances across pages, bear and
rabbit duke it out without saying a word. The audience is unaware of the
conflict’s conclusion until squirrel asks about rabbit’s whereabouts. He is
answered by bear that has mysteriously reclaimed his cap by unknown
circumstances and proclaims his innocence in a defensive although humorous
manner.
The illustrations are simple and
expressive. The bear is on the left page discussing with another animal on the
right page. Their eyes are dead pan, but in combination with the dialogue the
emotions and actions are well depicted. The simplicity leaves much to the
imagination which appeals both to its younger audience and the grown up
audience. The humor has a dark edge, but not enough to dim the levity of the
story.
I recently used this story as a
puppet show. We worried that the kids may not understand the silent moments,
but were surprised that the humor and meaningful pauses were equally important
parts of the story. Children and parents enjoyed the show. Although I
think the ideal audience would have been preschool and higher.
