I want my hat back by Jon Klassen

Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 978 1 4063 3683 2.
Picture book. Animals. Bear want his hat back and asks many of the animals in his area if they have seen his hat. On each page he asks the same question, 'Have you seen my hat?', and usually gets a similar reply, and then responds, Thank you anyway. This happens each time he directs the question to the fox, frog, turtle and snake, but when the asks the rabbit he has a much more complete response, giving far more detail. Watching listeners will notice too that the rabbit has a red hat on its head. The bear continues his search, and when he asks the deer, the animal asks him to describe the garment and in so doing the bear realises just where he has seen his hat and returns to retrieve it. A lovely twist at the end will have the listeners laughing out loud at what the bear does.
A funny story, the humour builds with each page, culminating on the page that the bear realises where his hat is. What happens after this is sure to draw smiles and laughs as the bear takes action. A seemingly simple tale, listeners and readers will enjoy the simple one lines as the bar asks the questions, and the fulsome replies by the guilty party. The simple but elegant illustrations add humour as the bland bear just asks his questions and listens to the responses.
Fran Knight