Customer Reviews

Extraordinary Adventures of an Ordinary Hat (North-South Paperback)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In a hat store, a man bought a hat that was very special to the shopkeeper. It had always kept him company. Because the man who bought the hat was a bit boring, the hat was happy to fly away in the wind and have an adventure down, down, down with a boy that got married to a girl with a pretty hat. The hats got married! The hats sent a postcard to the shopkeeper and told them about their marriage and about what had happened. It is a nice book to read and I was excited when I read it. I would recommend it to second graders and older because it might be confusing to younger kids. It does have great pictures to show if you read it aloud. JG

Most children love the anthropomorphism of objects (even if the critics sometimes frown on this). In this story, a bowler hat, of all things, is ascribed a personality and motivations. Why not? Imagine, if you can, how a hat would feel if he (and it definitely is a "he")were bought by a dull man who leads a dull life. Imagine how such a hat might wish to take advantage of prevailing winds to go on a great adventure. There you have it! The charm of the illustrations lends the story an extra twist of quirkiness, as we watch the changing expressions on this risk-taking chapeau.