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Hedgie #1
The Hat
A Publishers Weekly #1 bestseller, Jan Brett's heartwarming story of Hedgie the hedgehog's misadventures in the snow has become a family favorite.
When Lisa's woolen stocking flies off the closeline, Hedgie can't resist poking his nose in. He tries to pull it out, but the stocking is stuck on his prickles. At first the other animals laugh at the sight of him, but when they realize they might like something to keep their heads dry and ears warm, too, even more silliness ensues.
Like its companion The Mitten , The Hat is now available as a wonderful board book to share with young children.
"Brett's signature art introduces animal characters as endearing and expressive as those who congregated in her earlier book's expandable white mitten." --Publishers Weekly
"A clever and appealing picture book. . . . The pictures, story, and subject matter make this a natural for sharing aloud." -- School Library Journal
When Lisa's woolen stocking flies off the closeline, Hedgie can't resist poking his nose in. He tries to pull it out, but the stocking is stuck on his prickles. At first the other animals laugh at the sight of him, but when they realize they might like something to keep their heads dry and ears warm, too, even more silliness ensues.
Like its companion The Mitten , The Hat is now available as a wonderful board book to share with young children.
"Brett's signature art introduces animal characters as endearing and expressive as those who congregated in her earlier book's expandable white mitten." --Publishers Weekly
"A clever and appealing picture book. . . . The pictures, story, and subject matter make this a natural for sharing aloud." -- School Library Journal
34 pages, Board book
First published September 29, 1997
50 people are currently reading
3204 people want to read
About the author
Jan Brett
113 books1,028 followersWith over thirty three million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."
--from www.janbrett.com
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."
--from www.janbrett.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 463 reviews
January 29, 2019
I’m never disappointed by a story from Jan Brett. Hedgehog is the center of this amusing story. A little girl is airing out her winter woolens when one sock falls off the clothesline. A curious hedgehog sticks his head in the opening and it gets stuck on his prickles. It’s quite cute. So now he tells all the animals laughing at him that it is a hat.
What I enjoy about the story is on each page in the panels, we see the little girl, on the top we see the clothes line and on the right we see the next animal that will laugh at the hedgehog’s hat. As the pages turn, the items on the clothesline start to dwindle. It’s fun to watch and catch it.
The little girl chases down the hedgehog and gets her glove back and then laughs at all the animals wearing ‘hats’ in the yard.
The kids thought this was amusing as well and they know a Jan Brett book when they see it. They are also fans now as their mother adores them. Well, the whole family does. This got 5 stars all around.
What I enjoy about the story is on each page in the panels, we see the little girl, on the top we see the clothes line and on the right we see the next animal that will laugh at the hedgehog’s hat. As the pages turn, the items on the clothesline start to dwindle. It’s fun to watch and catch it.
The little girl chases down the hedgehog and gets her glove back and then laughs at all the animals wearing ‘hats’ in the yard.
The kids thought this was amusing as well and they know a Jan Brett book when they see it. They are also fans now as their mother adores them. Well, the whole family does. This got 5 stars all around.
December 18, 2022
Little Lisa gets out her woolens and hangs them up on the clothesline outside to air them out for winter. Hedgie finds a sock that gets blown off the line. Curiosity results in a sticky situation. All the other animals want to tease him about his new accessory. He is adamant that this new hat of his is the must-have for all in the barnyard. Brett's detailed and charming illustrations show us Lisa going about her day on the left and the next animal to converse with Hedgie on the right. Keep you eye on the clothesline view up top. The wind is having its way and soon Lisa will have a fun surprise when she comes out to collect her winter clothes.
January 21, 2020
The start of winter is starting on the farm and Lisa washes all her woolen clothes. She hangs them on an outdoor line when one of her socks flies away and lands on Hedgehog's head. All the farm animals make fun of his "hat" but he makes them feel like they are missing out on a fashionable trend and soon Lisa has no clothes on the line.
Very funny and fun to read. Old fashioned drawings which we all enjoyed looking at.
Very funny and fun to read. Old fashioned drawings which we all enjoyed looking at.
February 13, 2021
Nice tale of how you can be yourself and others will eventually accept who you are - would recommend for a small child having problems fitting in with a new group.
November 24, 2022
A hedgehog gets a sock stuck on his head, and to avoid embarrassment he tells the other farm animals it's his stylish new hat, starting a new fad that causes some inconvenience for the little girl of the farm. It's cute, but it's a slightly different but also slightly less satisfying spin on Jan Brett's previous and better book, The Mitten.
March 8, 2018
My two year old has renamed this book, The Sock. This makes a fun read aloud for young children. You are given plenty of opportunities to read using various voices and also make familiar animal sounds found on a farm.
October 10, 2017
"THOSE FOOLS WILL TASTE MY REVENGE FOR THEIR INSOLENCE," thought the Hedgehog, probably.
October 19, 2018
Read this as a little kid...I think in 4th grade. Cute.
December 18, 2023
Jane Brett recently visited a library in our town and we enjoyed a presentation by her. We also had an opportunity to stock up on her books. I snagged this one in a four pack kit. I bought my adult daughters and their daughters the new cozy series as well. They were raised on Jan Brett. What a wonderful legacy she has given us.
January 7, 2019
When Lisa leaves her woolen garments on the clothes-line to air out, her fallen stocking is picked up by Hedgie the hedgehog, who becomes entangled in it and can't get it off his head. The other animals are inclined to laugh at our erinaceous hero, but Hedgie insists his inadvertent headgear only makes sense, given the cold weather. Hurt nevertheless by the other animals' ridicule, Hedgie retreats toward his den, eventually running into Lisa, who takes her stocking back and explains to him that animals don't wear clothes. Hedgie has the last laugh, as he watches Lisa run after all the other animals, who, convinced by his arguments, have likewise commandeered the young girls' woolen garments...
Written to be a companion to Jan Brett's The Mitten , a picture-book retelling of a popular Ukrainian folktale involving a mitten that serves as temporary home to a parade of animals, The Hat is an original winter-time tale, one that also features a human garment and a group of animals. Hedgie is an adorable hero for Brett's tale - I have a soft spot for hedgehogs and porcupines - and I appreciated the humorous ending, in which all the other animals, after initially laughing at Hedgie, decide that they too want a warm piece of clothing. The artwork, as is to be expected from Brett, is lovely, capturing the charm of a wintry landscape. Apparently Brett traveled to the Danish island of Funen, home of Hans Christian Andersen, for visual inspiration for her artwork. As always, I found her animals and landscapes particularly appealing here. Recommended to all Jan Brett fans, and to anyone looking for amusing animal stories for the picture-book set.
Written to be a companion to Jan Brett's The Mitten , a picture-book retelling of a popular Ukrainian folktale involving a mitten that serves as temporary home to a parade of animals, The Hat is an original winter-time tale, one that also features a human garment and a group of animals. Hedgie is an adorable hero for Brett's tale - I have a soft spot for hedgehogs and porcupines - and I appreciated the humorous ending, in which all the other animals, after initially laughing at Hedgie, decide that they too want a warm piece of clothing. The artwork, as is to be expected from Brett, is lovely, capturing the charm of a wintry landscape. Apparently Brett traveled to the Danish island of Funen, home of Hans Christian Andersen, for visual inspiration for her artwork. As always, I found her animals and landscapes particularly appealing here. Recommended to all Jan Brett fans, and to anyone looking for amusing animal stories for the picture-book set.
December 28, 2013
Little girl takes her woolen clothes out of storage and puts them on a clothesline to air out for the winter. One of the pieces gets blown away and discovered by a curious hedgehog. He accidentally winds up wearing it. The other animals tease him, but he wears it so proudly that once the little girl catches up to him and takes it back that she now has to chase down the rest of her wardrobe on other farm animals.
The drawings are beautiful. The borders add to the story. It is just a playful romp that children will enjoy again and again as they discover new things in each drawing.
The drawings are beautiful. The borders add to the story. It is just a playful romp that children will enjoy again and again as they discover new things in each drawing.
June 10, 2007
The Hat is a cute story about embarrassment, friendship and popularity. As with Bringing Down the Moon, the main characters are animals. In this one the protagonist is a hedgehog who wants nothing more than to get a stocking off his back before all his friends think he's stupid for wearing such a ridiculous "hat."
Meanwhile, all his friends, having seen his hat on such a cold winter's day see the wisdom of keeping warm and decide to pinch clothing from the woman's laundry line where she had hung her winter woolens to air out. One by one the woman loses her clothing set out to dry: the other stocking, a pair of gloves, a cap, a waistcoat, a sweater and a scarf.
I liked this book because it reminded me of Sean and his friends. Sean will take things he's learned at home and teach his friends and then everyone else is soon doing what he has been doing. Or he'll come home having learned something from his friends. This book captures how children creature their own culture at school perfectly.
Meanwhile, all his friends, having seen his hat on such a cold winter's day see the wisdom of keeping warm and decide to pinch clothing from the woman's laundry line where she had hung her winter woolens to air out. One by one the woman loses her clothing set out to dry: the other stocking, a pair of gloves, a cap, a waistcoat, a sweater and a scarf.
I liked this book because it reminded me of Sean and his friends. Sean will take things he's learned at home and teach his friends and then everyone else is soon doing what he has been doing. Or he'll come home having learned something from his friends. This book captures how children creature their own culture at school perfectly.
September 9, 2015
Our two performers enjoyed sharing this book to pre-schoolers at library story time. One was the hedgehog and the other was all the other animals.
Here's a link if you'd like a hedgehog paperdoll: http://janbrett.com/costumes_main_cho...
Here's a link if you'd like to make a hedgehog hat:
http://janbrett.com/hedgie_hat_projec...
Here's a link if you'd like to print some hedgehog stickers:
http://janbrett.com/hedgie_stickers.htm
Here's a link to make a paper plate craft hedgehog:
http://janbrett.com/the_mitten_projec...
Here's a link if you'd like a hedgehog paperdoll: http://janbrett.com/costumes_main_cho...
Here's a link if you'd like to make a hedgehog hat:
http://janbrett.com/hedgie_hat_projec...
Here's a link if you'd like to print some hedgehog stickers:
http://janbrett.com/hedgie_stickers.htm
Here's a link to make a paper plate craft hedgehog:
http://janbrett.com/the_mitten_projec...
December 8, 2016
Story: 5 stars
Art: 5 stars
A funny animal parody about influence and trendsetting. A prickly hedgehog accidentally gets a wool sock stuck on his head. When his barnyard friends laugh at him, he convinces them that it is the latest animal fashion, even though they all know that animals don't wear clothes. Suddenly they all want a wooly hat too. Notice the woolens disappearing from the clothesline. Great resource to help kids figure out what happens next in the story from visual clues.
Art: 5 stars
A funny animal parody about influence and trendsetting. A prickly hedgehog accidentally gets a wool sock stuck on his head. When his barnyard friends laugh at him, he convinces them that it is the latest animal fashion, even though they all know that animals don't wear clothes. Suddenly they all want a wooly hat too. Notice the woolens disappearing from the clothesline. Great resource to help kids figure out what happens next in the story from visual clues.
January 10, 2018
This book is great! The story is very cute! And the illustrations are a great tool for helping young children learn comprehension skills as the pictures in the margins allow young children to guess what happens next. This is great for interactive reading! My preschooler and I really enjoyed reading this together!
November 6, 2010
My baby liked this book, being a fan of The Mitten. I thought it was very well done and I loved the pictures, of course, and all the fun details that Jan Brett adds. I wouldn't recommend the board book edition, though; it's too small and the animals are hard to see, especially for a baby.
November 30, 2011
This is a really nice board book. The colors are a little muted but the illustrations are beautiful and very detailed. The story is a lot of fun and perfect for the winter season.
August 22, 2018
I've always loved this book since I was a child, it's just adorable.
December 13, 2018
Adorable! Hedgie uses a stocking as a hat.
October 23, 2022
Always the most beautiful pictures in her book, storylines are often a bit weak though.
January 30, 2021
3.5 stars.
September 17, 2018
This is a story of a sock that falls from a girl's laundry line and lands by Hedgie the hedgehog, who then gets the sock stuck to his head. He runs into many animals who say his hat looks silly but Hedgie says that it'll keep him warm. By the end, Hedgie gets free from the hat but all the other animals are wearing clothes and all of the girl's clothes are gone from the clothes line. The story is very clever as you watch Hedgie struggle to get out of the hat he didn't want while he convinces everyone that it is very normal and useful to have a hat. The illustrations along the side of each page shows what the little girl Lisa is doing while the story is happening and reveals that the clothes line is slowly losing more items as Hedgie talks to each animal. Jan Brett wrote this story with anthropomorphic elements by making the animals talk to each other and want to wear human clothes. Having the animals speak to one other makes the story more relatable to the reader as the animals have more character and personality. The illustrations are very pleasing to look at and engaging. You can envision the setting being a real place in Denmark.
December 5, 2016
This book brings back such great memories! I remember watching the snow fall as a little girl and my mom reading this story to me. It was a tradition that on the first snowfall that she would read it to all us kids. I love Jan Brett and this book is by far my favorite of hers. I love how her illustrations flow and it gives you clues on one page about what is to come next. This story is about a cute little hedgehog that got a stocking stuck on his head. He wore it with pride as he walked around the farm, all the animals laughed and question him but he stood up for himself. Before you know it the little girl in the story removes the stocking from his head but finds all the other animals have her winter clothes on! They wanted to be warm, and protected like the hedgehog said he was. I like how the hedgehog took a not so great situation in his eyes and turned it around by finding the positives. It is a great children's winter read and recommend this book to anyone! you will no the disappointed!
April 11, 2018
The Hat, by Jan Brett is an all time classic children's book. Jan Brett is an author and illustrator who is known for her colorful and detailed drawings and wide variety of animals and cultures. You will see many of these characteristics in the book, The Hat. Hedgie the hedgehog is the main character throughout this story. He is a curious and sneaky little fellow who accidentally gets a sock stuck on his head. When all of Hedgie's friends see him out, they begin to make fun of him for his "hat". The rest of the story is very fun and teaches a good lesson. As a teacher, I would read this book to my class because it is laid back, and classic. Another cool thing about Jan Brett is that some of her books go along with each other. For example, Hedgie does not only appear to be the main character in The Hat. Jan Brett has written about Hedgie the Hedgehog is many of her other books. This would be a cool way to get students interested in reading, and they can compare and contrast these books. There are many more lessons that go along with this book as well.
February 12, 2018
Hedgie ends up with a new “hat,” only to be ridiculed by the other animals. His adventure in his new hat results in him being ashamed that he cannot take it off. Only when he is being chased by Lisa, do the other animals follow along in wearing her clothes and Hedgie gets the final say in telling them how ridiculous they all look. The book evokes a chuckle, but also calls on the reader to think about how to treat others who have their own unique sense of style. The book does a great job on focusing how to embrace who you are, no matter what others say about you. The work of Jan Brett, provides details that bring to life the journey of Hedgie. Her illustrations bring the reader into the story and invite engagement in the journey.
June 25, 2017
The Hat which is common from The Mitten has a porcupine, Hedgie, who gets a hat stuck on it's head when it falls from the clothesline. Other animals on the farm laughs at Hedgie when he pretends to be wearing a new hat but in reality, he can't get it off his spikes. Lisa, the girl in the story, realizes her stocking is missing and goes and looks for it. At the end of the story all the other animals have a piece of clothing from the clothesline and Hedgie gets the last laugh. Children love this story especially after reading The Mitten. Children can learn about the authors Scandinavian background.
July 16, 2018
This is one of the books I remember from my childhood. My mom really liked Jan Brett so I think we owned most of her picture books. The version I read recently was the board book version. I know sometimes that board books are shortened versions of the originals, but I couldn’t tell if this one was shortened are not. The story felt complete.
As always Jan Brett has great illustrations and cute stories! This is a great story about trends and how silly they can be.
See my full review at PerfectlyTolerable.com
As always Jan Brett has great illustrations and cute stories! This is a great story about trends and how silly they can be.
See my full review at PerfectlyTolerable.com
December 16, 2018
A cute story about how people will follow others without thinking. I liked the quick thinking of the hedgehog. I liked that there were little panes along with the hedgehog story showing what the little girl was doing at the same time. The ending picture looked like something you would see in an illustrated version of Animal Farm. A fun story.
December 29, 2018
Jan Brett writes a beautiful story but the true star of the show are her gorgeous illustrations. I love how the stunning art in the central picture is augmented by the secondary story being told in the images in the side bar. She is a tee master of her craft.
December 17, 2021
I enjoy reading Jan Brett books out loud as the illustrations are amazing! She always has borders on each page full of illustrations that relate to the story, also, and I love those! Cute story about sharing!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 463 reviews