I Want My Hat Back was written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. It was published by Candlewick Press in 2011.
A bear has lost his hat and he wants it back. He asks all of the animals around whether they have seen his hat or not. After talking to many animals, he realizes something...
I read I Want My Hat Back about five or six times just because I enjoyed it so much. The ending gives us a lot to imagine after closing the book.
The characters are all fairly cute and they seem fairly expressionless for the most part. The only kind of expression is done very subtly with the eyes of the various characters.
The main character, bear, is possessed to find his hat that he can’t find... I tend to be like this at times especially when I can’t find something that I need... aren’t we all like this?
The color red is used only for one page of the story and creates the lightbulb-over-someone’s-head effect. The typeface has four colors... it helps distinguish the various characters. I’m wondering why he used a red typeface for the rabbit... red means panic?
The ending is one that people can enjoy talking about. This book has hints of black humor and I think this is a good thing for kids... they need to learn this kind of humor to survive in this world and understand certain people.
One more point about I Want my Hat Back is that there are a couple of liars in the story... and did the bear really do that at the end?
I’ve read a lot of picture books over the past few months and I have to admit Jon Klassen’s stuff is first rate! Read this book, laugh and be shocked. Strongly recommend.
