The Magic Hat

I purchased this book to work on phonological awareness with a child entering 1 grade soon, who also has an articulatory phonological disorder. It's perfect for this purpose, but fun for any kid up to about 6.

The Magic Hat is about a hat that belongs to a wizard. This story is written by Mem Fox. It was also illustrated by Tricia Tusa. This story would be good to cheer up a younger brother or sister. It is a very funny book. I loved this book because it has magic in it. The only thing I don't like are the pictures. The words are better than the pictures. The pictures really bring out the setting. The voice is the big city. The main character is the hat. In the plot a magic hat turns people into animals. You may ask where the hat came from? Well you will find out in the story. This book is hilarious. In the story there are 5 different animals. There is a toad, baboon, bear, kangaroo, and giraffe. Different people become different things. This book was full of color. This book is for K-1 grade. In conclusion is, the book is a good book and is funny. I really recommend this book. This is a great book. It is a very funny book. Last, everyone can read this book.

My 2.5 year old girl finds this book delightful. She has adored it for many months and loves to call out each animal as the story unfolds. The repetitive rhyming phrases are fun to animate and the pictures are colorful and interesting.

I had to find out why this great book got such a low rating - I couldn't disagree more with the reader from NY! My kids aged 2, 5, & 7 all love this book, and it reads well at all their different levels. My 2 year old smiles each time the "Oh, the magic hat, the magic hat" refrain starts, and I can put alot of personality and body movement into it. The 5 and 7 year olds both picked up on the rhyming animal ending to each page after the first read through (do they have to get it the first time for it to be a good book???), and we're discovering more of the picture details each time we read it. With my kids across a wide spectrum of ages, it's great to have books I can depend on to keep them all interested - this is one that does it, even with repeated readings. My only disappointment with this book is that more time isn't spent with the animal rhymes - it shifts gears halfway through, and I found myself wanting to keep going. The upshot is that the kids and I can come up with our own rhymes to make the "magic" last a little longer.

"One fine day, from out of town, and without any warning at all, there appeared a magic hat." So begins Mem Fox's marvelous new picture book, and youngsters are in for a delightful treat as they watch this attractive, blue chapeau drift through the countryside, landing on unsuspecting heads and turning them into animals. Her engaging, rhyming text is full of energy, rhythm, and motion, and little ones will enjoy helping you read the repetitive lines, "Oh, the magic hat, the magic hat! It moved like this, it moved like that!..." as the hat travels on its way to a new head. Tricia Tusa's bold, bright and humorous, action-filled illustrations are full of lots of expressive detail that just adds to all the fun. With a joyous, satisfying ending that sets everything right, The Magic Hat is a magical, rip roarin', read aloud, good time that preschoolers shouldn't miss.