[BOOK REVIEW] I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Title:  I Want My Hat Back

Author:  Jon Klassen

Genre:  Animals / Honesty / Black Comedy / Revenge / Children's

Year Published: 2011

Year Read:  2016

Publisher: Candlewick Press    

Series: Hat Trilogy #1 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Dark Humor)

“My hat is gone.  I want it back.”

I will admit that when I first looked at the cover of this book, I actually thought that this was going to be a pretty boring book due to how simplistic the artwork looked.  Now, after reading “I Want My Hat Back” by Jon Klassen and seeing that this book was nominated for several literary awards such as the Irma Black Award Nominee and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award,  I seriously believe that this is one of the best darkly humorous children’s books I had ever read!

Bear had lost his precious hat and even though he asked every animal he comes across, no one has seen his hat (although that Rabbit looks a bit suspicious).  Bear thinks that he will never find his hat again, until he realizes that he had actually seen his hat somewhere…

Will Bear get his hat back?

Read this book to find out!

Wow…just wow…even though I had read many children’s books that were dark and humorous at the same time, I had never read a children’s book quite like this one!  Jon Klassen’s writing is truly unique as the storytelling is simplistic, as it just details the bear trying to find his hat. But towards the end, this book takes on a whole new level of black comedy that unlike most examples is handled in a rather subtle yet sinister way!  I also loved some of the witty dialogue that Jon Klassen put into this book, such as the bear’s conversation with the rabbit:

“Have you seen my hat?”

“No.  Why are you asking me.

I haven’t seen it.

I haven’t seen any hats anywhere.

I would not steal a hat.

Don’t ask me any more questions.”

“OK.  Thank you anyway.”

Jon Klassen’s artwork is simplistic, yet effective for the story being told here and I really loved the images of the Bear being drawn as a big brown animal that has a spaced out look on his face which makes you wonder if he is aware of the situations happening in this book.  However, when the bear finally figures out what happened to his hat, the image of the bear having a surprised look on his face while the background becomes red is surprisingly jarring for the book’s quiet storytelling up until the last few moments of this story.

Parents should know that the ending of this book is pretty dark and although I will not reveal what happens at the end since I do not want to spoil this book for anyone who has not read it yet, let us just say that this conversation between the rabbit and the bear becomes much darker towards the end:

“Have you seen my hat?”

“No.  Why are you asking me.

I haven’t seen it.

I haven’t seen any hats anywhere.

I would not steal a hat.

Don’t ask me any more questions.”

“OK.  Thank you anyway.”

Parents should check to see if their children understand black comedy and read this book themselves to see if small children can handle the rather dark ending.

Overall, “I Want My Hat Back” is seriously one of the most unique children’s books I had ever read and anyone who loves black comedy in children’s books will get a kick out of this book! I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since the ending might disturb smaller children.

* 2011 Selezionato Mostra Internazionale d’illustrazione per l’infanzia di Sarmede 

* 2012 Irma Black Award Nominee 

* 2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor

* 2013 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Bilderbuch

[BOOK REVIEW] Morris's Disappearing Bag by Rosemary Wells

Title:  Morris's Disappearing Bag

Author:  Rosemary Wells

Genre:  Magic / Family / Christmas / Humor

Year Published:1975

Year Read:  1993

Publisher:   Puffin Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have read many books by Rosemary Wells ever since I was a child and this book is no exception! “Morris’s Disappearing Bag” is a children’s book by Rosemary Wells that is about a young bunny named Morris who had received a teddy bear that none of his siblings wanted to play with, but later on finds a mysterious package under the tree. “Morris’s Disappearing Bag” is a really cute book that children everywhere will definitely love!

Oh my goodness! This book has always been an adorable treat for me for many years! Rosemary Wells had done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this cute story about sharing and what I really loved about Rosemary Wells’ writing is that it is cute and creative, especially during the part where Morris receives a gift that no other child could ever receive! I also enjoyed the theme of this story as it portrays the importance of sharing and I thought that it was really cute about the way that Morris shared his gift with his siblings after he receives the special gift. Rosemary Wells’ illustrations are extremely cute, especially of the images of Morris himself as being the youngest rabbit in the family, he is drawn with Christmas styled overalls that have hollies all over it and I loved the way that the rabbits all have round bodies and short little ears that really make them look extremely cute!

Probably the only con in this book is that Morris’s siblings seem to snub Morris because of his gift, even though Morris is too young to play with their toys. However, I think this situation is redeemed towards the end, but it would be great to see Morris’s siblings try to make an attempt at sharing with Morris so that way Morris would not feel left out.

Overall, “Morris’s Disappearing Bag” is a truly cute and great book for kids who love Christmas books and learning about how to share with siblings. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

• 1976 Irma Black Award

[BOOK REVIEW] Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood

Title:  Heckedy Peg

Author:  Audrey Wood

Artist:  Don Wood


Genre: Horror / Family / Food / Magic



Year Published: 1987



Year Read: 2009

Publisher:  HMH Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Some Scary Scenes and Child Kidnapping)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Heckedy Peg” is another early book of Audrey Wood and Don Wood and is the winner of the Irma Simonton Black Award.  With Audrey Wood’s masterful storytelling and Don Wood’s exotic illustrations, “Heckedy Peg” is sure to be an instant classic.

Audrey Wood’s masterful storytelling is both exciting and intense as she narrates the story of a mother who risks her life to find her seven children before Heckedy Peg eats them up.  The scene that really stood out the most in this book was the scene where the mother knew which food item was her child by remembering what they had requested before she went to the market.  I always thought that while reading this book, whether or not the mother had an excellent memory of what her children wanted or that it was the power of love that broke the spell over the children, but I believe that the power of love is a good theme in this book because the reader can easily see that the mother was distraught when her children were kidnapped and she had the courage to go rescue her children even after they were transformed into food.  Don Wood’s illustrations are beautiful and haunting at the same time especially of the scene of Heckedy Peg’s hut being gloomy and frightening as the colors are mainly gray and blue and the trees twist in a monstrous way.

Parents should know that Heckedy Peg, the evil witch, might scare small due to her wanting to eat the mother’s seven children.  Also, some parents might be upset by the use of witchcraft in this story as Heckedy Peg uses dark magic to transform the children into various food items and they might want to talk to their children about the controversial topic about witchcraft.  Also, Heckedy Peg looks extremely frightening as she dresses in a tattered old dress and has a twisted and insane looking expression on her face.  The scene that will probably frighten children the most would be the scene where Heckedy Peg transforms the seven children into different food items and you can see the malicious grin on Heckedy Peg’s face as the children seem like ghostly apparitions of themselves when they transform into food.  Parents may want to comfort their children that a mother’s love for their children usually conquers any frightful situation and also discuss about the dangers of letting in strangers that they do not know that well.

“Heckedy Peg” is one of Audrey Wood’s and Don Wood’s most dramatic books and is also the most beautiful book from their collection, other than “The Napping House.”  Children who love books filled with adventure and tension will definitely enjoy this book and the mother’s clever resolution in finding out which child is hers.  I would strongly recommend this book to children ages six and older since it does deal with the subject matter of witchcraft and small children might be frighten by Heckedy Peg’s desire to eat the seven children.

*  Irma Simonton Black Award