We Found a Hat
We Found a Hat is a 2016 children's picture book by the Canadian author and illustrator Jon Klassen. It is about two turtles that come across a hat and what occurs when they decide to leave it be. In October of 2019, Candlewick Press released a boxed set featuring We Found a Hat along with its two companion books (This Is Not My Hat and I Want My Hat Back), calling it Jon Klassen’s Hat Box.[1]
 | |
| Author | Jon Klassen |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jon Klassen |
| Cover artist | Jon Klassen |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Candlewick Press |
Publication date | 2016 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 56 (unpaginated) |
| ISBN | 9780763656003 |
| OCLC | 934743481 |
Reception
We Found a Hat was received favorably, with a number of starred reviews including from Publishers Weekly,[2] Quill & Quire,[3] the School Library Journal,[4] and Booklist.[5]
The New York Journal of Books wrote "The ending feels almost wrong, a bit too easy, too happily ever after but only in my dreams." and concluded "We Found a Hat and the trilogy as a whole provides an entertaining, easy to read story on one level but also grants plenty of space for more complex and lively discussion."[6]
It has also been reviewed by The Globe and Mail.[7] Common Sense Media,[8] Kirkus Reviews,[9] and The Horn Book.[10]
See also
References
- "Jon Klassen's Hat Box". Goodreads.
- "We Found a Hat". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. November 3, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
Klassen's artwork, spare and sly, tells a different story. .. Klassen considers the instant at which a decision to act can break either way, depending on who's tempted and whether anyone else is watching.
- "Reviews: We Found a Hat". Quill & Quire. St. Joseph Media. May 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
Klassen's art is deceptively simple, and has become progressively economical with each title. Perfecting the subtle expressiveness he exhibited in his previous books, the author-illustrator is able to convey the protagonists' excitement, temptation, longing, treachery, epiphany, and ultimate contentment simply by changing the direction of the turtles' glances or position of their heads.
- Kiera Parrott (August 2016). "We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen". www.slj.com. Media Source Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
The lightest touch of the surreal adds to the dreamy melancholy of this tale. .. A different but wholly delightful and thought-provoking capper to Klassen's ingenious series.
- Klassen, Jon (2016). We Found a Hat. kcls.bibliocommons. ISBN 9780763656003. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
Klassen employs all his trademark dry wit and deadpan humor to tell the story of a hat-related caper.
- Cindy Helms. "We Found a Hat". nyjournalofbooks.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- Anna Fitzpatrick (November 21, 2014). "SReview: Jon Klassen's We Found a Hat is the artist at his best, as his own storyteller". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
Those who have read and loved the previous two books in the hat series might assume they know how this one will end, but Klassen proves once again he can still surprise with a finale – even if this one is coming a turtle's pace away.
- "We Found a Hat". www.commonsensemedia.org. Common Sense Media Inc. 2016-10-07. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- "We Found a Hat". Kirkus Media LLC. August 30, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
There are no belly laughs here, but patient children and Klassen's fans will be fully engaged.
- Jonathan Hunt. "We Found a Hat: Reviews". catalog.wccls.org. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
The tenderness in this book (with its uplifting ending) is just as surprising as the black humor in the earlier ones. While the book is richer in the context of the two previous volumes, Klassen leaves enough space for uninitiated readers to make their own meaning out of this story about a hat -- but, here, also about an enduring and precious friendship.