Red Hat

by Lita Judge

A series of exuberant read-aloud sound effects perfectly capture the whimsy and joy of a springtime frolic in this companion to Red Sled.In this almost wordless springtime picture book, an adorable crew of baby animals borrows a familiar-looking red hat (last seen on the head of Red Sled’s unsuspecting protagonist) and embarks on a joy-filled escapade—until all that is left is a long piece of red string! Their playful romp is gorgeously depicted in bold watercolor and complemented by humorous expressions and pitch-perfect sound effects. With a timeless tone and classic characters, Red Hat promises to be an instant favorite.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Storytime, Knitting, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2013

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl hangs her newly-washed red hat on the clothesline to dry in this mostly wordless picture-book from author/artist Lita Judge, and a bear cub soon absconds with it. Mayhem ensues, as various other woodland animals attempt to snatch at the hat, which eventually unravels. Mama Bear is unimpressed, and demands that her cub return the hat - now nothing but unraveled yarn. Fortunately, the girl knows just what to do, not only about her hat, but about the animals...

Like its predecessor, Red Sled , which also features a human object that is borrowed by a bear and various other animals, Red Hat is a sweet picture-book romp, one that relies entirely upon onomatopoeia and the accompanying pencil and watercolor artwork to tell the story. I can't say I found this one quite as appealing as the first, but I do think those who are looking for wordless (or mostly wordless) narratives will enjoy it, as will fans of Judge's artwork.

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie's Picks: RED HAT by Lita Judge, Atheneum, March 2013, 40p., ISBN: 978-1-4424-4232-0

"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.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even the warmest, most favorite of red knit hats eventually must be washed and hung out to dry. In this case, though, the hat with its bobbing cottontail is just too appealing to be left alone by the playful animals that live nearby. A bear, rabbits, a raccoon, and other wildlife get in on the action, snatching and tossing the hat until it has completely unraveled. When the little girl whose hat they've demolished sees it, she doesn't become upset. Instead, she sits right down in the yard and knits enough hats for all. Maybe she knows just how tempting a red hat like that can be. The pencil and watercolor illustrations in this appealing picture book complement the almost-wordless text, filled primarily with sounds of glee uttered by the animals and sounds that mimic their surreptitious borrowing of the red hat.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mostly wordless tale that includes quite a few onomatopoeic sounds throughout. It features the characters from the book Red Sled.

The story is quite humorous and reminds us somewhat of the book The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth. Overall, it's a short, but entertaining story told through the pictures. We enjoyed reading this book together - our girls took turn narrating the pages and they really loved making the different sounds. My favorite was the "Doot-do-doo" part.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute story about a bear and his animal friends who have fun playing with a red stocking cap bear finds on the clothesline. As the animals enjoy the "toy" hat, it begins to unravel causing animals to get tied up and bear worries the human it belongs to will be angry, but as it turns out bear has nothing to worry about. Great book for dialogic reading both individually and storytime. Nice large text and illustrations.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun wordless (except for the sounds) book from Lita Judge. The animals take the child's red hat from the clothesline and play with it until it becomes completely unraveled. Momma bear makes them give it back, but it's now one long string.

The sounds were unusual and appropriate, and I knew EXACTLY how "Doot-do-doo..." should sound.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly wordless but absolutely delightful. Pair with Extra Yarn, Penguin and Pinecone and Duck Sock Hop for a well knit storytime!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, Red Sled is more successful, but this is a fun complement for the spring and summer seasons. My storytime kids love Red Sled, and I'm sure they will like this one as well.

[Karen A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as much fun as Red Sled but still engaging and lots of onomatopoeia. I can see this wrapping up a nice storytime with Jan Brett's 'The Mitten'.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An almost wordless book. Wasn't sure at first, but once I saw where it went, was enchanted by the joyful ending.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost wordless, a cute and simple tale, I thought the unraveling of the yarn could have been more interesting but the ending was wonderful. My son did not seem to enjoy this tale as much.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like picture books that are mostly pictures and very scant words?

Do like picture books about animals?

Then, very likely, you'll love this storybook. In a neighborhood with only one house and very few growing things, a red hat is hanging from a clothesline.

Playful animals, including several animal equivalents of toddlers, get to playing with that hat. Just like human toddlers, they have a ton of fun. Although the hat doesn't fare so well.

Eventually, what's left of it? Only a long piece of red string.

On behalf of the aforementioned ideal readers for this book (two groups which would definitely not include me), I'll rate this book at FIVE STARS.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, animals find a hat outside and begin to play with it. Throughout the book it unravels and the animals are scared. They return it back to the house where they found it. Will the owner be upset? Is the hat gone forever? Read to find out.
I liked the book, despite the lack of substance. Normally a book with a lot of illustration and few words will have purposeful words, they just didn't seem purposeful.
The only way I think I could use this book would to be to explain the dangers of messing with things that aren't yours, but other than that I really couldn't use this book.

[Miss Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a red hat is left out to dry it goes on an unexpected adventure when a bear and his friends get a hold of it. The more they run around with it the more unraveled it becomes. This book with only sounds as words shares a fun story of what these animals do with a hat. Well, until Mama bear makes them put it back.

[Kimberly Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute wordless book on a hat that a girl put on a clothes line to dry. Some animals take the hat and as they play with it, the hat unravels. All that is left is a long red string. The book is good for students to make up their own words to the story. Good book for preschool through 3rd grade.

[Darinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some animal friends spot a red hat hanging out to dry. The animals decide to have a little fun and go on a journey, and they bring the red hat with them.

A fun story that is mostly wordless... the only words are for sounds (e.g., Fffwwup, Roweeeee, Shwooo, Whoa, Wut-whoa).

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book says so much without saying anything at all! Told through illustrations, it's about seeing the humour in everything and making the most out of a bad situation instead of taking life too seriously.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost wordless. The only words are exclamations, not narrative.

Animals "borrow" a knitted hat from a clothes line and play with it, returning the remaining yarn at the end.

[L. Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

With my middle child it was Red Sled, my youngest daughter has chosen Red Hat. Lita Judge is an author favorite for my girls, or so it seems.

Book borrowed from our local library.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet picture book about how playfulness can lead to unplanned consequences. The book is almost wordless. Each page has onomatopoeia. The book can be used for small children or for EL newcomers.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations! Really neat how Lita Judge, with only one onomatopoeia per page, tells a charming story that leaves an “awwww” on the last page.

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red hat? B

[Ruth Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the style of the Red Sled, this book is very cute and resembles the story line of Jan Brett’s the Mitten.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is age appropriate for my 10-month-old. He giggles at the sounds the animals make on each bright, adorably illustrated page.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, loving book. You should read it because it teaches about friendship.
Maddie, age 6

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute!
A fun follow-up to Red Sled.
The text is lovely on the page, but for me, they didn't have the same impact of those in Red Sled.
The illustrations carry the story and are rich.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mostly wordless book that would be perfect for a preschool or kindergarten student to tell the story in their own words.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books like this make me want to make a better effort to gather up some ideas about how to teach with wordless books.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute. A bear takes a red hat off a clothes line and runs around with other forest animals until there isn't much left to hang back up! Sweet ending.

[Nanny B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute wordless story (just sounds written)