I Want My Hat Back

I Want My Hat Back
written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. 40 pages. Candlewick Press. 2011.

Media: watercolor

Author/Illustrator Website: www.burstofbeaden.com

Awards: Theodor Seuss Geisel Winner, 2012; New York Times' Ten Best Illustrated Books of The Year, 2011

Summary: Bear asks all the animals of the forest if they have seen his missing hat. 

Personal Reaction:
Bear is missing his hat. One by one, he asks the animals he comes across in the forest if they have seen his hat. They all say no, of course. Bear is polite and patient, but not too observant- as the reader sees that a shifty looking rabbit is, in fact, wearing a pointy red hat. 


As Bear begins to despair he realizes what the reader already knows- that Rabbit has his hat! Bear runs back to the clearing where Rabbit is sitting. After a tense standoff illustrated with a wordless 2-page spread, Bear is shown sitting contentedly, amidst some rather bedraggled vegetation, wearing his pointy red hat. 

What happened? How did Bear manage to get his hat back? And where exactly is Rabbit? I won't give away the ending, but sharp readers quickly infer what Klassen implies here, and the sly joke is central to the joy of this book. 
 
Klassen's illustrations, as well as his text, are understated, wryly humorous, and irreverent. While he has illustrated some recent children's books, this is the first one he has authored himself. If his subsequent books are as excellent as this one, he's definitely a name to watch in children's publishing.