"Hiii-ya!"
Oh, my gosh. RED HAT is so much fun and it does so many great things so
well.
"Yoo-ha!"
A story told through images and exuberant sounds, RED HAT is a tale of
animal hijinks that begins with a knitted red hat that a child has left
hanging to dry on a makeshift clothesline.
"Roweeeee" Baby Bear grabs the hat from the line and takes off. Back in my childcare
center days, I would refer to these sorts of action-filled tales as "gross
motor" books. We boys are really keen on them.
"Doot-do-doo" A wild rumpus ensues as the woodland creatures chase after and -- in some
cases -- literally get caught up in the yarn from the hat as it steadily
unravels. Finally, Mama Bear puts the kibosh on the festivities and Baby Bear
guiltily returns the pile of yarn to the clothesline.
"Hmmm?" All is forgiven as the child sits down in the yard with a pair of knitting
needles and the animals all gather round as the hat is recreated. This is
what it is all about to me: this message of unconditional love and
forgiveness and kindness. Just love it. It has just totally made my day.
The final illustration shows that everyone has gotten a wearable knitted
gift.
A perfect story for employing dialogic reading strategies, RED HAT is an
all-around gem of a book. 40 pages 978-1-4424-4232-0
Recommended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, Librarian, California USA
See more of his recommendations at: Richie's Picks _https://richiespicks.com_
