The Hat Hunt

by Sven Nordqvist

When the hat he never takes off suddenly disappears, Grandpa searches for it all over town and in the process finds a variety of objects from his past.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Swedish Literature, Sweden

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Sven Nordqvist (born 30 April 1946) is a Swedish writer and illustrator of children's books. He is best known for his series Pettson and Findus, about an old farmer, Pettson, and his talented cat, Findus.

Nordqvist was born in Helsingborg and grew up in Halmstad, Sweden. He originally wanted to be an illustrator but was rejected by several art schools. Instead he studied architecture at Lund Institute of Technology, and worked for a time there as a lecturer in architecture. At the same time he continued to look for work as an illustrator working on advertisements, posters and picture books. In 1983 he won first prize in a children's book competition and since then has worked exclusively as an author and illustrator of children's books.

He is married and has two grown sons.

During his career, he has been given awards in both Sweden and Germany. His Pettson and Findus books are especially popular in Germany, where the characters are known as Pettersson and Findus. In Danish they are called Peddersen and Findus. In Finnish they are called Pesonen and Viiru. And in English, Festus and Mercury, though English translations of the books exist with the original names kept.

In 2007 he won the literary award Augustpriset in the children's books category, for his book Var är min syster? ("Where is my sister?"). In 1992 he won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis

Reviews

[Håkan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a psychedelic masterpiece for all ages, not only kids.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice Book
Has Mucklor

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Grandpa wakes up one day and discovers that the hat which he wears at all times (save when sleeping) is missing, his first impulse is to question his determinedly lazy dog, Lightning, who coolly informs that he (Lightning) is a pet, not a guard. Setting off to question his neighbors, from Mrs. Hen to Tailor Button-Up (not to mention the mysterious "Someone," who remains anonymous throughout), Grandpa finds himself collecting vaguely familiar objects - a tin soldier, a piece of watch chain, a pen-knife, a magnet, and a whistle - as he goes, eventually recalling a magical day from his far-off youth. Suddenly, as he recalls the hedgehog for which he bargained with his favorite possessions - these very objects which have somehow come back to him - his missing hat doesn't seem so important...

Originally published in Swedish as Hattjakten, this humorous picture-book from the creator of the popular Findus and Pettson tales, is fairly unusual, in my experience, in that it features an elderly character whose story in no way involves a child, whether grand-child or neighbor. I find that refreshing, particularly in this case, as the narrative concludes with Grandpa's return to youth (at least in memory), and his realization that he still has plenty of life in him. This idea - that sometimes older people start to get set in their ways, and forget that they too can change and grow - will probably be a new one for many young readers, who may (quite naturally) never have thought about the experience of getting older. Of course, The Hat Hunt is also just a fun story!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute masterpiece! One of my favourite books as a child, with illustrations that would entertain me for hours! I absolutely love Sven Nordqvist's eye for details.

A+ Highly recommended 5/5 toasts

[Natalia Salazar romppanen · Rating 5 out of 5]

En pärla som ibland glöms bort. En helt underbar, nostalgisk bok som får en att tänka tillbaka på sin egna barndom, på långa somrar, gömmor och skatter. Man läser klart den och tänker: "jag är så glad att Sven Nordqvist finns."

[Oleksandr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга про дідуся, що шукав капелюха. Він не знайшов капелюха, але знайшов 5 предметів, які належали йому у 7 років. У дідуся давно був друг Окке, у якого був їжачок. Він проміняв їжачка на 5 дідусевих речей:ланцюжок від годинника, оловяного солдатики, магніт, складаний ножик і свисток. Але після обміну Окке сказав дідусю, що більше ніколи не хоче його бачити.
Було цікаво, що у дідуся був сарай, а в сараї стояла коробка в якій хтось жив, але не було ясно хто. Хтось на коробці кожен день лишав записку, що його немає вдома, він пішов по справах, їж пиріг і пий каву.

[Lagobond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was from the Pettson & Findus series; it's not, but that doesn't matter. It has everything a great kids' book needs: lovable and quirky characters; a crazy wild adventure story; fun and goofy illustrations with lots of details to discover and get lost in; the whole entire range of human emotion; and a story that takes on a whole new meaning when one returns to it as a grown-up many years later. Another great book by Sven Nordqvist.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik zag deze toevallig in de kringwinkel liggen en als grote fan van Pettson en Findus heb ik 'm blindelings gekocht. En wat ben ik daar blij mee! De tekeningen zijn zoals altijd heerlijk om in te verdwalen. Maar ook het verhaal is ontroerend. Opa is een typische norse Nordqvist-opa die z'n hoed kwijt is. Maar wat volgt vertelt zoveel meer over hem. Ik kijk ernaar uit om dit te kunnen voorlezen.

[Keeloca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Efterlogg.

I can't promise my extreme fondness of this book isn't heavily informed by nostaliga: I can HEAR my father read it aloud as I skim the pages. But it's a lovely, whimisical story with - as always - amazing illustrations.

[Jelka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wild ride. But has a very sweet ending.

Didn't quite have the charme of Petterson and Findus for me.

[Charlotte Igelkott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omläsning(?) 8/10 2023.

[S.M.M. Lindström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mycket mysig bok, med vackra och detaljerade bilder.