Written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Bear has lost his hat and is making his way through the forest asking each of the animals in turn if they have seen it.

This is a delightful book to read to young children. It was fun for me to narrate, as the story is told completely in dialogue. Three-year-old Steven loved back & forth interchanges between the bear and the other animals.

The illustrations are primitive in style and mostly sepia toned, but Steven loved them, identifying the different animals easily and quickly.

For beginning readers, the word choice is basic; for those who are just learning to follow along with the text, the voices of the different animals are in different colored ink.

The story twist, though, that I found so delightful went right over Steven’s head. He didn’t recognize the different speech pattern used by the liar – either the hat thief or the bear’s final declaration.

The book pleased Steven at three & a half and will likely continue to do so for the next year or two as he grows and learns to distinguish truth from lies, and appreciate the unsaid as well as the obviously stated. (4 stars)

Buy I Want My Hat Back at Amazon.com
Buy I Want My Hat Back at Amazon.ca