Module 6: I Want My Hat Back

a.       A bear cannot find his hat and begins to search for it. He politely asks animals and reptiles that he passes, all of whom say they have not seen it. One in particular provides a very nervous and suspicious response, while wearing a red, pointy hat. After many questions, the bear falls to the ground and thinks about his hat despair. All of a sudden, he shoots up and starts running back to one animal in particular. After a shout, they stare at each other and the next page just shows the bear happily wearing his hat. All is well.

b.      Klassen, J., (2011). I want my hat back. Massachusetts: Candlewick.

c.       I enjoyed this book more after the second read through. I did not fully capture the details in the story the first time and did not like it then. After reading a classmate’s comment, I decided to read it again. The second time, I noticed that the bear did find his hat but that it was stolen by the rabbit. The first time I was confused because I thought he beat up the rabbit mistakenly. I did love the very polite manners the bear had while searching for his beloved hat. The illustrations are nice and do not overpower the story.  Like the review mentioned, I wondered where the rabbit went and concluded that he sat on the rabbit. Not once did I think he ate him. Now that I think about it, his line, “I would not eat a rabbit” totally gives him away.

d.      I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen; illus. by the author, Primary Candlewick 40 pp. 9/11 978-0-7636-5598-3 $15.99

Klassen’s animation and design skills are evident on every page in this sly, subversive tale. A bear has lost his red hat and is on the search. Each critter he questions—fox, frog, rabbit, turtle, snake, and armadillo—has the same dead-pan eyes, the whites of which are highlighted by the cream-colored background surrounding the sepia-hued animals. These first encounters all take place on the left-hand page, with repeated dialogue until the bear, giving up, finally falls flat on his back in bereavement for his missing hat. Here his eyes beseech the heavens. At the page turn, a deer looks into those eyes, asking, “What’s the matter?” This simple question knocks free a recent memory (one that the young reader is just waiting to be recovered) and leads the bear to a red-hot conclusion (and hot-red background color), spurring his race back to the thief. Adults and older children will chuckle mordantly at rabbit’s sudden disappearance, while young children might actually wonder, with Squirrel, where the rabbit has gone. Robin L. Smith

e.       I would use this book for a story time to reinforce context clues with readers. The small hints like, the rabbit not stealing the hat or the bear not eating a rabbit were tricky. I would also recommend to re-read texts for my readers to avoid missing important details.