Very Good Hats
by Emma Straub
illustrated by Blanca Gómez
Rocky Pond Books (Penguin Random House), 2023. 32 pages.
Review written February 28, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review
If you’ve ever been around a toddler or small child, some time or other you’ve played a game that explores the concept of What is a hat? This book puts that silly game into a picture book.
The first page challenges the reader:
Do you know what a hat is?
I bet you think you know what a hat is.
And yes, the next page starts with a haberdashery (okay, I didn’t expect that), but it goes on to acorn caps as hats for your fingers and books as hats for people with excellent posture.
Bubbles make very fine hats, if temporary.
A crown is a hat for a queen, but flowers can be too.The roof is the house’s hat, and a lid is a pot’s hat.
Everyone knows that.Pajama pants make for a dangly hat,
and towels are twirly hats, majestic as a unicorn.
I think my favorite spread is this one:
Empty bowls work, but you have to make sure they’re empty first,
otherwise you might have a soup hat instead.
I also enjoy this question, which I’d never thought about before:
If a turtle can tuck its head into its shell,
does that make its shell a hat?
And yes, the illustrations all add to the seriously silly fun.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/very_good_hats.html
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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