The Hat by Jan Brett

I love Jan Brett.

This is a funny story of her anti-hero Hedgie the hedgehog, who pokes his nose into something that shouldn't concern him: a sock that falls from a washline. The sock gets stuck on Hedgie's prickles and as he struggles to get loose, the other farm animals tease him. He gets his own back when he tells them it's a fashion-statement and keeps him warm in winter. The other animals then try to pinch an article of clothing for themselves from the washline.

The book has so many layers of detail that it would entertain and educate children and parents alike. 

Visual

Such exquisite, detailed drawings. You can see the lichen on the trees. You can almost feel the cold. You can almost smell the fresh air. You can see each line of thatch, each prickle on Hedgie, every thorn on the bramble. You come to an appreciation of the beauty of the Scandinavian (Denmark, I think) countryside (and Brett's artistry of course). 

Moral

Children learn how to react positively to being teased. They also learn that following what others say is cool is just silly. Adults can learn the same lesson. Just because someone says it's the latest in style doesn't mean you have to follow it. To me, it's also a commentary on superstition. Maybe I'm reading too much into the book, but the story speaks to me that just because something is said often enough doesn't make it true. 

Read-Aloud

This book is a great read-aloud book, with short, simple sentences, and varying tonality to convey emotions. It's great for animal sounds, too, if you're reading to younger children.

Learning

Children learn about the Danish countryside, flag and colours, architecture, climate, flora and fauna (farm, anyway). Because of Brett's border pictures, they also learn about temporal sequences: while Hedgie is rebuffing one animal's teasing, children can see what Lisa is doing in the meantime, and which animal is coming up to tease Hedgie next. They also learn to deduce which animal took which article of clothing from examining the gaps in the washline.