Hat Tricks

by Satoshi Kitamura

You're invited to Hattie the rabbit's magic show! A lively, must-have read-aloud for preschooler story times from acclaimed author-illustrator Satoshi Kiramura.

Abracadabra, katakurico! Oh, goodness! Out pops a cat from Hattie's magic hat. Can you guess what creature will appear from the magic hat next?

Follow along as Hattie the rabbit conjures up a parade of animals from her magic hat in this highly interactive story that's perfect for toddler and preschool story times. Simple, repetitive language along with ample opportunities for prediction and fun magic words add to its engaging qualities. A great pairing for magic-themed activities and animal units.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Magic, Animals, Childrens, Rabbits, Cats

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Satoshi Kitamura was born in 1956. After dropping out of school to pursue art, Kitamura decided not to attempt a 10-year apprenticeship as a potter and instead worked as a graphic artist. He was not trained as an artist, but at the age of 19 began to do commercial work as an illustrator for adverts and magazines. He moved from Tokyo to London in 1979 where he worked mainly at designing greeting cards.
Satoshi Kitamura has won several awards, including the Mother Goose Award, the National Art Library Award from the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a Nestle Children’s Book Prize Silver Medal. He lives in Japan.

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

#52 in my 365 Kids Books challenge and multi-year effort to get Goodreads to fix the Top Readers, etc. lists. For a fuller explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf It seems unlikely that I will actually achieve 365 reviews of kids books this year, but I don't want to stop.

Another artist with a very simple, spare visual style, but warm. I like the way the story builds and resolves. Shout out to "brava," a tragically underutilized word. And while the unnecessarily gendering of things is my bête noir, if one is borrowing from a language which has grammatical gender, probably one should make sure the chosen word matches the chosen pronouns.

Special thanks to the library for their clever window display with directions to knock on the glass if you see something you like and then call the provided number and the librarian sitting near the window will check the book out to you and leave it on shelf right over there. Kitamura was new to me and I very happy introduction this was.

Library copy, obvs.

[Serch · Rating 4 out of 5]

“¿Qué es esto? ¡Es una conejita en un sombrero!” – Satoshi Kitamura

Esta semana recibí un paquete sorpresa por parte de Editorial Océano, eran tres libros y el que más llamó mi atención fue precisamente ¡Magia! de Satoshi Kitamura, reconocido autor japonés.

La portada es muy bonita, en ella podemos observar a la conejita Bombina, la cual es muy tierna y simpática, a los niños les encantará este personaje. Espero que más adelante podamos seguir disfrutando de ella en otra historia.

Ahora les hablaré de la edición, la verdad es que Océano Travesía ha hecho un excelente trabajo. El libro es de pasta dura, así que los pequeños lectores lo podrán llevar a todas partes y no se les maltratará. El tamaño de la letra es grande, la historia es muy sencilla y se acompaña de bellas y sencillas ilustraciones realizadas por el autor.

El libro me gustó mucho, obviamente para mi edad me parece muy simple pero recordemos que va dirigido a un público infantil; recuerdo que a esa edad a mi me encantaban los animales (bueno, hasta la fecha) y todo lo relacionado con la magia, y oh sorpresa, Bombina es una conejita maga. Me imagino que todos en algún momento de nuestra infancia soñamos con ser magos y realizábamos ciertos trucos a nuestra familia, ¿cierto? He de confesar que nunca fui bueno para eso…

He seguido de alguna manera el trabajo de Kitamura y fue para mi muy grato encontrar en este cuento a un personaje que me gusta mucho, se trata de Gato, protagonista de otros libros infantiles de este autor. ¿Lo conocen?

Y bueno, este cuento es ideal para contar a los niños antes de dormir o para los docentes que trabajan con menores de entre 2 a 6 años. Que fluya la magia: Abracadabra, tamborilero, descubran con sus niños todo lo que hay en el sombrero.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful conjuring.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute, fun to guess what the next animal will be, but not much more imo. And octopuses on land bothers me....

[Kelsey McLane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think Leo quite gets this one, but the silliness factor is enough to keep him guessing and reading! He asks for it nearly every day!

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

A short, simple, interactive picture book about a magician rabbit! The rabbit says the magic words, and a little bit of an animal will poke out of the hat (ears, tail, tentacle, etc), and kids get a chance to guess what animal is coming out of the hat next. This would be very easy to incorporate into storytime.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rabbit magician pulls a variety of surprising things out of her hat in this simple but entertaining picture book. When life gets back to normal, I hope to read this to some of our friends at story time.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute premise, a bit of a weak ending. Reminded me of Milo's Hat Trick.

[Nalle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primer libro del año y totalmente elección de mi hijo 😂.
Es una historia muy bonita sobre una conejita que ama hacer magia por lo que la combinación es preciosa. Muy recomendable para los más pequeños.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hattie is a magician rabbit who pulls animals out of a hat. Her hat tricks start out fairly mundane (a cat, a squirrel) and gradually grow even more outlandish until she finally pulls an elephant out of the impossibly tiny hat!

This a cute, funny story that reminded me of Bark, George by Jules Feiffer. The story's interactive elements make it a natural choice for storytime. For instance, audiences can join in on saying the magic words and try to guess what animal will appear next. Author/illustrator Kitamura includes a tiny glimpse of the next animal peeking out of the hat, such as a squirrel's bushy tail and an elephant's trunk, making this book work well as a guessing game.

The illustrations feature cute, simple, cartoony animals on plain backgrounds, letting readers focus on the magical antics. The animals' comically exaggerated expressions are a delight, especially the poor cat who looks more and more freaked out with every turn of the page.

That said, the ending falls a little flat for some reason... I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just feels underwhelming compared to the over-the-top humor of the rest of the pages. Still, there's a lot to appreciate, and I think kids will be in stitches laughing at the unexpected twists. A good choice for a magic or rabbit themed storytime. Consider pairing with White Rabbit's Color Book.

[Maryalice]

With only two tiny white ears showing and the question, “What do we have here?” children are introduced to Hattie, a magician who has a magical hat. A variety of artistic mediums create simple, uncluttered illustrations that accompany text that will engage students and have them asking, “What’s in the hat?” On each page spread, a new friend joins Hattie and her magical hat. Magical words like “Abracadabra katakurico” can be fun for a whole class cheer or as an opportunity to work on reading nonsense words and breaking down syllables.

THOUGHTS: This simple picture book would be a fun read aloud for primary grades and can encourage predicting and a discussion about context clues.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always wished I had a magic hat! I think it started when I was a little kids watching Frosty the Snowman Christmas special on TV. Their magic hat made the snowman come alive. This magic hat, which belongs to Hattie, the Magical Rabbit, has a bunch of surprises packed inside it. As Hattie pulls out a cat, a squirrel, and a bunch of other increasingly larger animals, young readers will have fun trying to guess what's coming out next. This would be a fun read aloud and might help young readers learn about making predictions when reading.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

I wish that I could try this in a storytime and see how it does. The vivid, dark outlines of the illustrations and the simple, graphic style make the pictures really pop! And the story is fun. I'm trying to figure out why I am not giving this a higher rating? The magic words are tripping me up a bit, but with practice I would get them...I think. (I know myself and my limitations and try to be honest, really.) The animals expressions are wonderful and crack me up, and they remind me a bit of Bark George. I just cannot figure out why I do not LOVE this.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang, do I like this one. Reminiscent of Bark, George, it's a one joke book, but what a good joke! Hattie the rabbit in the magic hat is actually the magician, and pulls a cat out of the hat. Then a squirrel, then an octopus. Then an....well, you get the joke. Kids will get it too and will be chanting "abracadabra, katakurico," along with each page. A story time treat!

[Abby Johnson]

Super simple text and cute illustrations make this book a good choice for reading aloud with young children. Some of the illustrations are a little odd (the moose's antler looks more like a reindeer) and it has a weird anticlimactic ending, but consider this for a storytime about magic or about animals. I think young kids will enjoy predicting which animal is coming out of the hat next.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny book about predictions.

Hattie is a magician who pulls things from her hat.
She says the magic words, we see a little bit of the animal, turn the page and can see what comes from the hat.

Things start out fairly normal and get completely wild (think Mary Poppins pulling the hat rack out of her carpet bag).

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read aloud and you can do extension activities of pulling more animals from a hat or coming up with your own magic words. This would also work well as a flannel story or to use with puppets. Thank you to Peachtree Publishing Company for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part of this book is the illustrations of the cat, who looks more and more freaked out with every page. The illustrations are simple, the plot is straight forward. I think children will enjoy seeing the different animals that are pulled from the magic hat, and how they are duplicated at the end, but there isn't much meat here. It's mostly just whipped cream and not much pie.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hattie the Magician has quite a hat. Not only does Hattie come out of it to start, but several animals follow. “Abracadabra Katakurico ... What’s in the hat?” Readers can guess what animal is coming out by the partial body part that emerges. It’s a bit difficult to get the elephant out, but once it’s out it’s time for some fun!

[❂ Ann ❂ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a find! This is an adorable book about a bunny named Hattie and her magic hat. She pulls out companions--each one bigger than the last. Think Jules Pfieffers "Bark George" with adorable, illustrated characters and wide expressions. The surprise ending is worth the wait. If you're looking for a read-aloud book for preschoolers/toddlers, this book is a sure win.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this silly, fun book. This would be great for a read aloud as the story moves forward the pages will turn in eager anticipation. What will come out of the hat next will be the question until the last page.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute! A bit more clarity on which animals were coming out of the hat would have made it 4 stars. But since the animals are a bit all over the place (not all jungle animals, not all house pets, etc), it stays at 3.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really clever story about a magician rabbit pulling different animals out of his hat...but at first you only get a small picture clue and have to guess what the animal is. Great read-aloud and fun way to practice using picture clues to help read a story.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hattie the rabbit pulls more and more ridiculous tricks out of her hat. Simple repetition, good for predicting (literacy). The end, where friends come out, aches in my heart for all the loneliness kids are experiencing now.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. The ending was a bit off for me, but liked the concept before that and can imagine storytime kids helping you say the magic words, " abracadabra, katakurico" and guessing what animal might pop out of the hat next.

[Katie Oflibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Not my favourite that I've read today -- but I've read so many wonderful ones today so that's not its fault0 -- but probably better for storytime than many of them. This will pair nicely with a puppet and a song.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hattie the magician says the magic words and, one after the other, different animals pop out of her hat! This is a delightful, toddler-friendly storytime book. Lots of opportunity for guessing and interaction.

Themes: Magic, Guessing, Animals, Hide and Seek
Age range: Toddler through preschool

[Kelly Marie]

Great choice for kindergarten readiness or a shorter family storytime book. Magic bunny pulls animals out of a hat - kids can see just a part of the animal and guess what is coming. Great for interaction.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super silly book about a magician rabbit named Hattie and her magical hat. She preforms the magic trick "whats in the hat". The books turns into a fun guessing game of who is in the hat!

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rabbit works on his magic tricks which don't always go as planned. Preschool and up