This is Not My Hat facts for kids
front cover of unknown edition
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| Author | Jon Klassen |
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| Illustrator | Jon Klassen |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Candlewick Press |
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Publication date
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2012 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 40 pp |
| ISBN | 9780763655990 |
| OCLC | 779856963 |
This Is Not My Hat is a popular children's picture book from 2012. It was written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. The story is about a small fish who steals a hat from a big, sleeping fish. The little fish thinks he will get away with it. But the big fish notices his hat is gone.
The book is a follow-up to Klassen's earlier book, I Want My Hat Back. At first, Klassen wanted to use the same characters. However, his publisher suggested using new animals, so he chose fish. Critics really liked This Is Not My Hat. They praised its clever humor, which comes from comparing what the little fish says to what actually happens in the pictures. The book won two major awards: the 2013 Caldecott Medal and the 2014 Kate Greenaway Medal. It was the first book ever to win both of these important awards.
Contents
Creating the Book
After his first hat book was a hit, Jon Klassen tried to write more stories with those same characters. But it was hard. His art director at Candlewick Press, the company that publishes his books, suggested he try new characters instead. So, Klassen decided to use fish for this story.
Klassen felt this new story was more "dramatic" than his earlier work. He even said that the famous short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" gave him some ideas for the book's mood. For the pictures in This Is Not My Hat, Klassen first drew them with ink. Then, he used a computer to add colors and small details.
Publication and Other Versions
The book was released on October 9, 2012. It has been translated into more than 22 different languages around the world. Jon Klassen traveled to 15 cities in the United States to help promote the book.
In 2014, an audiobook version of This Is Not My Hat came out. It was read by John Keating. The audiobook also included music played by string instruments. The music helped show what the fish were doing, much like the music in the story "Peter and the Wolf" helps tell the story.
In October 2019, Candlewick Press released a special collection. It was called Jon Klassen’s Hat Box. This box included This Is Not My Hat along with its two companion books: I Want My Hat Back and We Found a Hat.
What Happens in the Story
The story begins with a small fish. This fish has stolen a hat from a big fish who is sleeping. The little fish is very proud of himself. He brags about how easy it will be to get away with the theft. He thinks the big fish won't wake up soon. He also believes the big fish won't notice the hat is gone. And even if he does, the little fish thinks he won't know who took it or where the little fish went.
However, the big fish does wake up. And he does notice his hat is missing. The little fish tries to hide in some plants. A crab sees the little fish hiding. The crab then tells the big fish where the little fish went. The big fish follows the small fish. Even as the big fish gets closer, the little fish still believes he won't get caught. At the very end of the story, the big fish is wearing the hat again. The book lets the reader figure out exactly what happened.
Story and Art Style
The book is very clever because you have to pay close attention to both the words and the pictures. What the little fish says is not always what is happening in the illustrations. This means the reader has to put the pieces together. The small fish tells the story from his point of view. He acts like he's talking to the reader or to himself. He is very confident that he won't get caught, even though he stole the hat.
This Is Not My Hat teaches a complex lesson. It suggests that stealing is wrong. But it also shows that if you do steal, you might get caught. Readers can feel two ways at once: they might hope the little fish escapes, but also want him to be punished for taking the hat.
Critics praised the book's simple design. They also liked how Klassen used colors like black and brown in his drawings. The way the pictures are shown, called the "perspective," stays the same throughout the book. It's usually like a medium shot, showing the characters from a little distance. The characters' feelings are mostly shown through how their eyes move. Some people compared Klassen's illustrations to those of another famous children's book artist, Leo Lionni.
