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Elephant’s day doesn’t get off to a good start. He wakes up GRUMPY.
When the doorbell rings, it only annoys him. When he thumps downstairs to see who it is, there is a mystery present waiting for him and this unexpected gift – a most spectacular hat – turns his day around and puts a great big smile on his face.
Keen to share his good fortune Elephant visits his friends. They too have woken up out of sorts but Elephant knows a great way to spread his happiness: by sharing his present and giving each friend a fabulous hat to wear.
Hooray for Hat by Brian Won is a wonderfully up-beat and joyous ode to friendship, the good things that come from ‘paying it forward’ and teamwork. It perfectly captures the transformational magic of hats; a little bit of frivolity and exuberance bursting out of your head can indeed do wonders to how you feel!
From the deftly humorous grumpy facial expressions in a range of animals, to the appealing candy colour palette beautifully set off against stark white pages, Hooray for Hat‘s illustrations and design are a delight. The dapper carnival procession of animals are sure to make young readers giggle and banish any blues, helping us remember how little acts of kindness in life can make all the difference. A treat, pure and simple!
In response to Hooray for Hat we set up our own millinery studio, using old lampshades as bases for our hats (we were able to source lots of old lampshades from a local recycling centre).
Lampshades, ribbon, paper, hot clue, sequins and a whole lot of imagination and craziness later we had our hats:
As you can see, they made us feel very happy!
Whilst making our hats we listened to:
Other activities which would go well alongside reading Hooray for Hat include:
Are you a hat person? If so, I’d love to hear about your favourite hat!
Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of Hooray for Hat from the publisher.
Well, I want this book desperately! I am again so grateful for this lovely site. I remember the fun of the Easter Hat Parade, where hopefully not too long-suffering family members made hats for their young ones. Then we would delight in showing off the creation as we walked the parade, most likely with a little bewilderment of being the entertainment! Later, at the age of eleven years, we the students were enlisted to make hats for the infant children… This was a genuinely far more delightful experience.
PS: The children’s hats above are glorious!
Hi Zoe,
I’m going to put this post in my memory bank to recommend for our hat parades at Easter.Will have to get the book- sounds gorgeous ( and I am a hat lover myself anyway!)