From the muted, natural palette which emerges from the end papers to the quirky humour that is just so Klassen, This Is Not My Hat picks up fromwhere I Want My Hat Back left off, and runs with it.
Klassen is doing for hats what Mo Willems did for pigeons … launching them in to a whole new stratosphere.
Our fishy little narrator is sporting a rather fetching pale blue hat which he stole from another fish. A large fish. A sleeping fish. Of course he won’t notice. If he does notice, then of course none of the animals he passes will reveal his new secret hiding place. Of course not!
Klassen’s ability to convey so much through the movement of one little eye (on one very big fish), reveals an artist’s eye for details and an author’s ability to tell a story … just so.
As in I Want My Hat Back, the ending is deliciously wicked. This Is Not My Hat concludes with an intriguing open ending for little ones to ponder over. Pure delight!
Klassen plays wonderfully on a child’s keen sense of right and wrong whilst tapping in to their mischievous sense of humour.
This is Not My Hat is full of suggestions and implied meanings delicately conveyed through both dialogue and illustrations – such a perfect combination for reading out loud to a gaggle of eager children. They love it!
Read My Book Corner’s interview with Jon Klassen here.
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