Hats Are Not for Cats!: A Silly Rhyming Picture Book About Cats, Dogs, and Why Everyone Can Wear Hats

by Jacqueline K. Rayner

Are hats for cats? A big, bossy dog and a determined cat disagree. This funny rhyming romp—with a large cast of cats and hats—leads readers to the perfect hats are for everyone!

A  big, severe, plaid-hat-wearing dog insists that the small black cat in the red fez shouldn't be wearing a hat—any kind of hat—because hats are for dogs. His patronizing tirade doesn’t convince this cat, however. Defiantly, she wears an assortment of hats, described in the gleeful rhyming text, and brings in other cats to join the protest. The silliness of both text and pictures offers a cheerful take on bossiness and managing conflict, with a win-win resolution.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Dogs, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2019

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just plain goofy... but in a good way. A bossy dog spends much of the narrative telling a cat that cats don't wear hats. And the cat seems to be trying to prove the dog wrong by wearing everything from shower caps to sombreros! Eventually, the cat has had enough and fights back... much to the chagrin of the dog. But there are enough hats for everybody, so this one ends on a happy note.

There's really not much story, and the rhyming text is clunky at times... but the pictures are so silly and fun that you can't help but be sucked in. I'm sure kids will love looking at all the wacky hats that the cat wears throughout the book.

This is a great example of a simple premise done really well. There's not much of a moral, a message, or even a story. But it's got animals wearing goofy hats. What's not to love?

Quotable moment:

[Mid-Continent Public Library]

Do you think hats are for cats? Read along as a hat-wearing dog disagrees to every argument the small black cat makes for himself. Enjoy this one now by checking out a copy on Mymcpl.org or searching for it on Overdrive! – Reviewed by Stephanie at MCPL Reading Rocket

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hats are for cats! So many fun pictures! And cats don't care what you say, they do what they want!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & funny illustrations.

[Shiloah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too cute! Perfect for cat and dog lovers.

[Abby Johnson]

This silly rhyming story features a debate: are hats for cats or only for dogs? The cat tries on all kinds of different hats, each rejected by the dog as "not for cats" until the end when the cat stands up for all cats and insists that hats ARE for cats. In fact, hats are for everyone! With many cute pictures of different kinds of hats (flapper hats, winter hats, bonnets, etc.), this is a fun readaloud for a storytime on hats or clothing.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dog wearing a plaid top hat, tells a cat who is wearing a fez hat that hats are for dogs, and not cats. The dog continues to let the cat know, that no type of hat should be worn by a cat. But just as dogs will be dogs, and cats will be cats, lessons are learned, and attitudes are changed.

[Em Alaġbary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adorable love letter to hats and cats.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moral of the story is don't tell other beings what they can and can't do. Also sharing is good.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful colours / non colours for the art !

[Lupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids loved this book! Text to text connections to “Green Eggs and Ham” and Mo Willems. Adorable! Perfect for Kindness Day, too.

[Whitney Vestal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun. Good pattern/cadence to read to kiddo (15months). Kiddo loved the art and said "kitty" the whole time!

[Union County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hats Are Not for Cats! (Rayner, Jacqueline K.) ✴
I love cats and I love picture books, so I will pick up any cat-related picture book I can get my hands on. Jacqueline K. Rayner's Hats Are Not for Cats! follows a strict dog who has decided that cats should absolutely not wear hats. He doesn't approve of any hats on any cats. According to grumpy dog, hats are only to be worn by dogs. In the end, many cats and their silly, festive hats convince the dog that everyone should be able to express themselves with hats. I used this book in my storytelling class and I enjoyed the rhythm of the text and the way I could create a fun voice for the dog. I think children will appreciate being able to choose their favorite silly hat. My favorite is the fruit bowl hat, followed closely by the fez. This book is appropriate for preK - grade 2 and anyone who loves cats.
- Reviewed by Betsy Z.

[Alex Gabbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts off by a dog and a cat walking past one another. The dog stops the cat and explains his reasoning about how hats are for dogs but not cats. This book while rhyming tells, what type of hats are not allowed to be worn by cats. Even through the mild conflict, we know it is important to treat everyone the same. The cat in the middle of the story says that they can be worn by cats and his cat friends come along wearing all different sorts of hats. The dog is discouraged at the end and then the cat and dog both come to the conclusion that hats are for everyone. This makes an excellent point that anyone can do what they put their mind to. There should have been slightly more dialogue and background to help better interact with the book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacqueline K. Rayner's debut novel is sure to be a hit! In a classic dog vs. cat argument, Dog is trying to convince Cat that "hats are not for cats!" Cat, of course, refuses to believe him, and the end is both funny and touching.

Rayner's rhyming scheme is just right--it flows well, feels natural, and moves the story along without any unnecessary text. The illustrations are adorable, and add so much humor and value to the story. Rayner's artwork is action-packed without feeling overly busy, and readers will love following the characters from beginning to end.

This book certainly deserves a place on library shelves, and readers will delight in checking it out over and over again.

[Sam Wernert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I did like this picture book. It had nice illustrations with lots of vibrantly colored hats for the cats and dogs. The story did a good job of showing how the animals were upset when they were told they could not wear hats. Even though there were no words on that page the pictures showed the sad dog and cat in all gray with nearly no color on the page. I would use this book as a class read-aloud because it focuses on inclusion and how you don't have to be a certain animal to wear a hat. I would leave the book out in the class library after the read aloud so students could further explore it in their free time.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a rhyme scheme reminiscent of Dr. Seuss, this book introduces us to a dog in a top hat and a cat with a very large inventory of unique head coverings. But the dog insists that cats cannot wear hats - only dogs can. Fortunately, by the end of the story the cat has had enough and knocks the hat off of the dog. When cat and her kitty friends sees how sad the hatless dog is however, they relent and include him in the fun - with new rules that hats ARE for cats. And dogs, too!
A very subtle message to not leave other out but mostly just rollicking fun amidst a plethora of hats!

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dog vs cat -who wears the hats?? A fun rhyming book with every child’s favorite 2 animals.

This could be used for an animal or hat themed storytime, but mostly it should be read for fun!

Large fonts are used sometime to show increased voice volume by the characters. Illustrations are very good with white pages for the background and greats colors for the world bubbles and other subjects in the pictures.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big bossy dog sees a cat wearing a hat and proceeds to inform him that hats aren't for cats they are for dogs. For spread after hilarious spread, the dog has charts and posters describing who hats are for (dogs) and who they are not for (cats). The cat keeps trying all sorts of different kinds of hats and eventually cannot take the lecture anymore. The pictures are bright and awesome and I was grinning and laughing the whole way through. My story time kids are going to love this one!

[Samarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern Fantasy
Kindergarten- 1st grade.

This is such a silly and goofy book. It was such a fun book to read that made me laugh out aloud. I love the rythm that is used throughtout the story and I feel like this could be a great text to use when explaining rythm. I also loved all the pictures that the illustator did. I feel like they made the story funnier. Students will love this silly book about if cats should wear hats.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a simple concept, but I thought it was darling. Probably because I love the illustrations of that scrappy little gray cat. A dog tries to tell a cat that hats are only for dogs, and cats shouldn't wear them (which is silly of course). He describes a whole slew of different kinds of hats in rhyming text.

[Janet Luch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures in this book show plenty of action from both the cat and dot. There are few words on each page with enough hints in the text to help a beginning reader. The text varies in size to let the reader know what words to read louder than others. This is a very good book for individual reading, group/story time reading, and to have available in a dress-up center that has plenty of hats.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The traditional rivalry between cats and dogs takes a new twist in this picture book as the dog insists that no hats are right for cats. Underlying themes of friendship and sharing amongst all the fun of the different hats. I can also think of many different ways to extend this book into the classroom for further learning and discussion.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super cute rhyming book about a dog is trying to explain to a cat why cats CAN’T wear hats. Full of bright colors and adorable illustrations. I think this will age younger, has a Seuss-y rhyme feel.

[Alison N · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dog has declared that hats are not for cats, just for dogs. A determined cat is ready to show him differently in this delightful book with gorgeous illustrations and great rhymes. Loved it... though I have yet to meet a cat in real life who enjoys wearing a hat. Oh well, still a great book.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming words. Great adjectives. Funny and silly. This book has the making of a great read aloud/storytime book.

Focus: Vocab/Word Choice, Phonological Awareness
Audience: Toddlers/Families/Preschool up to 3rd grade.

[Linda Millard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to only give this 4 stars because of the illustrations. In many of the scenes the cats looked way too much like dogs. Cute story with colorful drawings. And , of course, the cat is correct in the end. Never take advice from a dog!

[Tompkins County Public Library Youth Services]

Cat, ever the inspiration, is super gracious and generally unfazed by bossy dog. I love the parade of cats in different hats, doing their thing. Very charming and funny with a happy ending for everybody

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cat is wearing a hat, and the dog does not like that. No hats are right for cats because the dog says so.

This quirky rhyming book is filled with clever rhymes and hats of all kinds. It's exactly what I was hoping for, given the title.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute story with cute and modern illustrations. The text very much reads like a classic Dr. Seuss book. My kid’s favorite animals are cats and dogs, so this book was absolutely perfect for her.