Monday, June 19, 2017

Hat

Hat. Paul Hoppe. 2009. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: One day, Henry found a hat. "Can I keep it? Hat would be so cool!" Hat protects from the sun. Hat keeps off the rain. Hat is great for catching mice and performing magic tricks.

Premise/plot: Henry finds a hat on a park bench one day. He wants it as he imagines that it would be awesome to have. Henry has a BIG imagination. Hat--as seen through Henry's eyes--is anything but ordinary. Will Henry take the hat? Or will he leave it on the bench?

My thoughts: I love this one. I love, love, love the illustrations. I love the story and the writing. I love the joyfulness of this one boy's imagination. One of my favorite scenes in the book is..."Hat saves Henry's life." In the illustration, readers see a smug looking Henry. An alligator (or perhaps crocodile?!) has been foiled from eating Henry by this awesome red hat you see in its jaws. But I think what I love most of all is how we revisit all his original ideas in a new way after his mom asks him, "But, Henry, what if someone else needs this hat?"

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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