Title: Hooray for Hat!
Author & Illustrator: Brian Won
Publisher: HMH Books, 2014
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: 2-6
Themes: Friendship, Kindness
Excerpt:
It was hard to stay grumpy now.
“HOORAY FOR HAT!”
Elephant cheered. “I will show Zebra!”
Synopsis:
Elephant wakes up grumpy—until ding, dong! What’s in the surprise box at the front door? A hat! HOORAY FOR HAT! Elephant marches off to show Zebra, but Zebra is having a grumpy day, too—until Elephant shares his new hat and cheers up his friend. Off they march to show Turtle! The parade continues as every animal brightens the day of a grumpy friend. An irresistible celebration of friendship, sharing, and fabulous hats.
Activities:
- Have a Hat Parade! Download and print this colorful activity kit with hats from the book!
- Have kids Read and Act out the story. This tale is laid out well for Reader’s Theater.
- Have kids do a Random Act of Kindness. Here is a link to my past blog post to get some ideas.
Why I Love This Book:
I love, love, love this book! It is perfect for story time and preschools, but will certainly bring a smile to anyone that reads it.
- I love the simplicity of the story, that can be summarized with three keywords, grumpy – hat – friends.
- I love that sheer joy and innocence in the characters, that represents young kids so well.
- I love the repetitious lines “GO AWAY! I’M GRUMPY!” and “HOORAY FOR HAT!” that help to provide a strong story structure.
- I love the bright, colorful illustrations and the use of white space to make the art eye-grabbing. Also the use of colored letters for HOORAY throughout the story.
- But most of all I love that it teaches kindness and sharing.
Enjoy this adorable trailer:
This review is part of Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book series. Visit her site to see the other books recommended.
