Very Good Hats

Starred review from November 28, 2022
Embracing the same accessory-inclusive spirit as Instagram series Mac’s Book Club Show, Straub (This Time Tomorrow, for adults) throws her hat in the picture book ring with a gently comic clarion call to imaginations and creativity: “Anything can be a hat if you believe it is.” Tipping a chapeau to hats both conventional and less so, breezy encyclopedic text focuses most of its enthusiasm on examples that expand the definition of hats and who wears them. Examples include the finger hat (“raspberries, chewed-up gum, tortellini, and doll shoes,” each stuck on the end of a digit), a teddy bear’s pudding cup cap, and domestic objects’ toppers: “The roof is the house’s hat, and a lid is a pot’s hat./ Everyone knows that.” Bubbles, cats, clouds, and leaves make the list, too, as does a big bowl—though a line cheekily cautions first checking inside the latter, “otherwise you might have a soup hat instead.” Full of bright colors and strong shapes, and centering doll-like characters with an array of skin tones, digitally enhanced collage art from Gómez (Dress-Up Day) contributes bountifully to this book’s classic feel, offering an openhearted aesthetic playfulness that promises to inspire audiences’ love of categorization. Ages 2–5.

January 1, 2023

PreS-Gr 3-Whimsy and imagination fill the pages of this colorful title dedicated to covering not just your head. "Acorns makes snug hats for your fingers." "Bubbles make very fine hats, if temporary." Going from concrete to very imaginative, the text and illustrations encourage creative thinking and ask readers to extend the notion of a hat. "Anything can be a hat if you believe it is." Extension activities practically leap off the page, engaging children in viewing the world around them with a creative lens. Illustrations of a diverse cast of round-faced adults and young people are reminiscent of the style of Christian Robinson and are wonderful for the intended audience. Children will love the bubble-covered bottom of a character taking a shower on the spread celebrating pajama pant hats and twirly towel hats. VERDICT Fun for sharing at story time or a class that will end with children creating all sorts of inventive hats or other clothing items for themselves or the world around them. Delightful.-John Scott

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2022
In her debut picture book, adult novelist Straub offers a tip of the hat...to hats. This captivating charmer isn't about hats' utilitarian functions--that is, the why, when, or how they're worn. Nor will readers learn the latest scoop in millinery fashion trends. The author instead muses on...well, hats--mostly how and what they can be made from. And does she have ideas! Among many items, hats can be fashioned from pajama pants, towels, bathtime bubbles (temporarily), books, bowls, and--get this--even cats! Speaking of creativity, who says hats only go on heads? Hats fit on fingers, too: Have you ever tried adorning fingertips with raspberries, tortellini, chewed gum, and doll shoes? And--wait for it--where is it written that only people wear hats? Can't houses, pots, turtles, woodland animals, and stuffed bears wear chapeaux, too? There are many more charming examples in this wonderfully clever title, and children will want to return to it again and again. Adults sharing this adorable winner should be prepared to use it to stimulate creative discussions, drawing, and/or craft-making activities. Children will have a ball donning their thinking caps and coming up with original ideas for devising all sorts of hats and various creatures and objects to wear them--including themselves. The digital illustrations incorporate paper collage and are as colorful, lively, and inventive as the text. Characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Raise your hats, everyone; raise them high! (Picture book. 3-7)

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