This Is Not My Hat

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The 2013 Caldecott Medal winner!

From the creator of the #1 New York Times best-selling and award-winning I Want My Hat Back comes a second wry tale.

When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So its a good thing that enormous fish wont wake up. And even if he does, its not like hell ever know what happened. . . . Visual humor swims to the fore as the best-selling Jon Klassen follows his breakout debut with another deadpan-funny tale.

Reviews

Any picture book needs to bridge the worlds of adult and child, whether they are the tucker and the tucked in or the experienced reader and the sounder-outer. The negotiations between what grown-ups and children want, and between what adults are familiar with and children are still apprehending, provide the tension that makes childrens books possible. Whether puttering along with Little Tug on the surface or swimming with the fish in the dark below, were all in this water together.
New York Times

This is, quite simply, an outstanding bookand that aint no fish tale.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Simplicity is key in both text and illustrations. The black underwater provides the perfect background for the mostly gray-toned fish and seaweed while the monochromatic palette strips the artwork down to essential, yet exquisite design. Movement is indicated with a trail of small white bubbles. This not-to-be-missed title will delight children again and again.
School Library Journal (starred review)

Klassens authorial debut, I WANT MY HAT BACK (2011), became one of the surprise picture-book hits of the year, and while its tempting to see this follow-up as a sequel, its really only related in its hat-theft theme, animal characters, deadpan humor, and a suggestively dark conclusion. . . . The simple, dramatic tension and macabre humor thats right at a kids level of deviousness mesh splendidly with Klassens knack for tiny, telling details and knockout page turns. Who knew hat thievery was such a bottomless well
Booklist (starred review)

Klassen excels at using pictures to tell the parts of the story his unreliable narrators omit or evade.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Klassen combines spare text and art to deliver no small measure of laughs in another darkly comic haberdashery whodunit...Hats off!
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The eyes have it in Klassens latest hat book (I WANT MY HAT BACK). Klassen manages to tell almost the whole story through subtle eye movements and the tilt of seaweed and air bubbles. . . Darkly hilarious.
The Horn Book (starred review)

This would make a remarkable read-aloud for students to interpret the ending in various ways. (Highly Recommended)
Library Media Connection

Jon Klassen once again uses short, declarative sentences, a minimalist palette and a hat to deliver a wallop of an ethics lesson. Having explored the victim's point of view in his debut picture book, I WANT MY HAT BACK, Klassen now shines a light into the mind of a thief. . .Klassen once again gets the tone pitch perfect. His bare-bones text and enigmatic images leave the proceedings open to interpretation. And the ethics questions could keep kids debating for days, laughing all the way to consensus.
Shelf Awareness

Absolutely gorgeous artwork (digitally assembled Chinese ink illustrations) and an utterly original voice in the picture book world.
Apartment Therapy

Klassen once again gets the tone pitch perfect. His bare-bones text and enigmatic images leave the proceedings open to interpretation. And the ethics questions could keep kids debating for days, laughing all the way to consensus. (Starred Review)
Shelf Awareness for Readers

A title that may well earn the moniker of Most Anticipated Picture Book of the Fall 2012 Season.
A Fuse #8 Production (SLJ blog)

The central idea here is clever, but its the pacing that is impeccable. Like a classic comedy routine, the interplay of text, art, and page turns allow any adult reading this aloud to make it a hit.
Calling Caldecott (Horn Book blog)

Author Bio

Jon Klassen is the creator of the 2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book and New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Childrens Book of the Year I Want My Hat Back. He is also the illustrator of Caroline Stutsons Cats Night Out, winner of the prestigious Governor Generals Award for Illustration. Jon Klassen has worked as an illustrator for feature animated films, music videos, and editorial pieces. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, he now lives in Los Angeles, California.