Hats are pretty amazing. They can keep you warm, make a fashion statement, or even help transform you into someone else entirely! It follows that picture books are just FULL of these terrific toppers. So, when I realized that some of my all-time favorites were hat-centric, I knew I had to share this list with you. Without further ado, here are 5 picture books featuring particularly good hats.
Very Good Hats
Words by Emma Straub; pictures by Blanca Gomez
A brand-new book which proves anything can be a hat. Full of very good hats indeed.
My favorite hat in this book: Definitely the soup hat! But also, be on the lookout for a very distinguished top-hat-wearing bird, a friendly pot lid, and a squirrel who may have taken a hat from a bear.
Carol and the Pickle-Toad
Words & pictures by Esmé Shapiro
A hat book all about finding your voice! Chock full of fun things to spot and featuring a very unique and bossy hat (it’s a toad).
My favorite hat in this book: Keep your eyes peeled for a fashionable lampshade and a friendly dog with a propeller hat!
Go, Dog. Go!
Words & pictures by P.D. Eastman
The conflict between the poodle and the yellow dog in this otherwise conflict-free story is an iconic and enduring touchpoint from my childhood. “Do you like my hat” “No I do not like you hat” “good-bye!” “good-bye.” (It even inspired another iconic children’s book duo.)
My favorite hat in this book: The yellow dog is wrong! The poodle’s hats were good the whole time! I especially like the extremely long ski cap.
Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business
Words & pictures by Esphyr Slobodkina
A true hat classic, first published all the way back in 1940! I once babysat a set of twins that wouldn’t go to bed unless I read this at least twice. A pretty strong endorsement from the kid-contingent!
My favorite hat in this book: These hats have all been roughed up by monkeys and then thrown on the ground... I’m not sure I would wear any of them.
I Want My Hat Back
Words & pictures by Jon Klassen
Featuring possibly the greatest realization plot turn in all of literature. Klassen once described these woodland characters as “baffled to be in a book” and the humor in their stiff line delivery and uneasy stares make this a hat book beyond compare.
My favorite hat in this book: Not the bear's hat. I did not take the bear’s hat. It is the bear’s. It belongs to the bear.