The Queen’s Hat
Written and illustrated by Steve Antony
Verdict: ✦✦✦✦✦
Deceptively simple but rich in detail and possible discussion factors, The Queen’s Hat is both a great book for children to pore over alone, and a great book to share, as it lends itself to many re-readings.
What is it about:
This is a delightful story abut a chase for the Queen's hat. It takes us through London, introducing major landmarks in a fun way, with the Queen's men all over them. The precarious, but non-threatening, situations will add smiles to storytime. On each page children can find the runaway hat, the pursuing Queen – always in front, very fittingly – her little Corgi somewhere nearby, and a great herd of red-coated troops trying to help. Just for fun, the illustrator added a fine butler with his tray of drinks tucked into the pictures, a little more of a challenge to find. The story has a quiet successful ending, but that is sufficient after the breathless chase.
Our take:
While this might seem like a just-for-fun book, it offers plenty of opportunity for fun discussions and repeat readings. It can go as fast as the hat in some readings, or as slow as a sightseeing walk. Talking points in this book could lead into geographical, historical, and architectural explorations through other resources and books. The art work is organized and clear. It is of a quality that neither degrades a child's taste nor is overly precise, matching the fun style of the story, which needs some exaggerations for the humor it gently evokes. The writing has a good variety of forms and typefaces to match the rollicking story. Some of the words are blown by the wind, some slide up and down the page, and some march along like well-drilled soldiers. The illustrations are bold and simple enough that this book could be used for a group setting in a home or classroom.
Perfect for:
Because it has things to find on each page, this book is great both for a child to pick up just to look through for quiet time, or for multiple parent-child readings. There is nothing too overwhelming or troubling or hard to understand in this story, so it suitable for most children. Libraries would also do well to stock a copy a two.
Conversation starters:
What is a queen? Who is the Queen in this book? Where does she live? What does she do?
Why is everyone following her?
What goes wherever you go?
What kind of great buildings have you seen? Which ones do you like most? (Opportunity to talk about architecture)
What monuments have you seen? What are they helping us to remember? (Opportunity to talk about art and landmarks)
Who do we remember and what helps us remember?
(Geography) Let's find London on a map.
Where do we live on a map?
Do we have big buildings and monuments near us?
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