What a Hat!

This is a sweet story about compassion and sacrifice. I love the illustrations. This book gives me a warm feeling. I love it more than my 2 year old but an older child would probably appreciate it, too.

Visitors are exciting, but they may also bring unexpected and inexplicable habits to one's house. Take Newton the bunny, for example. While visiting cousins Henry and Wizzie, he won't take off his hat. Not for dinner, not in the bathtub, not even when he goes to bed! He merely says "No hat." Bunny Henry does not have his sister Wizzie's patience; he calls Newton "weird," steals his hat ("Mama made Henry wait an extra ten minutes for his muffin"), and tries to trick him into taking off. Finally, Henry ignores Henry, pretending he doesn't even see him, while Wizzie and Newton make a "tiger house" in the sandbox. When meanie bunny Gus knocks the house down, Winnie cries and Newton tries to cheer her up: He gives her his tiger, hugs her, and finally gives her his hat. That does the trick--Wizzie stops crying. The funny thing is that Wizzie keeps the hat on. She wears it all that afternoon, during dinner, when she takes her bath, and even when she goes to bed! Newton isn't upset that he doesn't have a hat; in fact, he jokes with Henry about it: "'No hat!" Newton said to Henry, and Henry laughed. BY the next day, all three bunnies are playing happily together, and none of them are wearing a hat (it's on Newton's toy tiger). Although a very simple story, I liked the example of Wizzie's acceptance of Newton's seemingly strange attachment to his hat. The affection between the two leaves a warm feeling, and we also discover that Newton is neither "weird" nor so attached to the hat as Henry originally thought. Conversely, those toddlers somewhat dependent on a favorite object may learn that they can give it up, so that others can enjoy its security too. Soft colors and nice interior details, along with the bunnies' expressive faces add to the book's appeal.