''I Want My Hat Back'' is a 2011 children's picture book by author and illustrator

Jon Klassen Jon Klassen (born November 29, 1981) is a Canadian writer and illustrator of children's books and an animator. He won both the American Caldecott Medal and the British Kate Greenaway Medal for children's book illustration, recognizing the 2012 ...

. It was Klassen's first book as both author and illustrator. The book was published by

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. History Sebastian Walker launched Walker Boo ...

in September 2011. It is notable for its dark ending.

Plot

A bear laments his lost hat, and sets off to find it. He asks a fox and a frog if they have seen it, but neither has. The bear then asks a rabbit who is wearing a red pointy hat. The rabbit answers negatively and defensively, ending "Don't ask me any more questions." The bear then moves on to ask a turtle, a snake, and an armadillo. None have seen the hat. A deer comes upon the despondent bear and asks him what his hat looked like. Upon recollecting that his hat was red and pointy, the bear snaps to a realisation and runs back to the rabbit. He accuses the rabbit of stealing his hat. On the next page, the bear sits on a rustled patch of ground, wearing the red pointy hat. A squirrel enters and asks the bear if he has seen a rabbit wearing a hat. The bear answers negatively and defensively, implying he ate the rabbit and ending with "Don't ask me any more questions." The squirrel exits, leaving the hatted bear sitting alone.

Reception and awards

The book achieved considerable commercial success, spending 48 weeks on the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' bestseller list. Pamela Paul praised the book in review for ''The New York Times:'' "it is a wonderful and astonishing thing, the kind of book that makes child laugh and adult chuckle, and both smile in appreciation ...

t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

a charmingly wicked little book and the debut of a promising writer-illustrator talent." According to the ''Chicago Tribune'', "the joy of this book lies in figuring out the explicit plot from the implicit details in the pictures." There has been some discussion of the ending over the appropriateness of a character killing another without repercussion in a children's book. A bookseller, who "need dto go on record as saying I LOVE this book", reported that some customers love it until they turn the last pages. It made the

Kate Greenaway Medal The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Librar ...

shortlist, and was a Geisel Award honor book.

Adaptations

An animated version of ''I Want My Hat Back'' was produced by

Weston Woods Studios Weston Woods Studios (or simply Weston Woods) is an American production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children. It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded ...

and Bigfott Studios in 2013. The film was adapted, directed, and animated by

Galen Fott Galen Sander Fott (born September 9, 1963) is an American director, animator, writer, and actor. His animated short films have won awards and have screened at film festivals in London, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Houston (twelve-time Remi Awa ...

. Jon Klassen provided the voice of the deer. It was a nominee for the Golden Gate Award at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

. It also won second prize for Best Animated Short Film in the Children's Jury of the

Chicago International Children's Film Festival In 1983, Facets Multi-Media founded the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), the first competitive festival of films for children in the U.S. The impetus for the Festival came from a need to introduce new, culturally diverse fi ...

. A musical stage adaptation of the book opened on November 12, 2015, at the National Theatre in London. It was directed by Wils Wilson, with book and lyrics by

Joel Horwood Joel Horwood is a British playwright. He has been a member of the Royal Court/BBC 50 scheme and has also been on attachment at Hampstead Theatre. His plays include ''I Caught Crabs in Walberswick'', ''Mikey the Pikey'', ''Food'', and ''I Hea ...

and music by

Arthur Darvill Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor, composer and musician. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in ' ...

. The production was warmly received; Susannah Clapp of ''The Guardian'' hailed the production's “inspired, homespun magic” and asserted “No one will want their cash back.” The National Theatre production was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Family and Entertainment Show. In October 2019, Candlewick Press released a boxed set featuring ''I Want My Hat Back'' along with its two companion books ('' This Is Not My Hat'' and '' We Found a Hat''), calling it ''Jon Klassen's Hat Box''. During the United Kingdom's first Covid lockdown Sam Wilde and Ian Nicholson created and performed a stage version made only from cardboard boxes. This was put on to YouTube with great reception. This was then picked up by Little Angel Theatre{{Cite web , last=Little Angel Theatre , title=Little Angel Theatre , url=https://www.littleangeltheatre.com/on-tour/i-want-my-hat-back-trilogy/ , access-date=May 12, 2024 and became a successful national tour with large full sized puppets – still made from cardboard – and included the complete trilogy.

References

External links

Trailer for ''I Want My Hat Back'' book

Trailer for ''I Want My Hat Back'' film
2011 children's books American children's books American picture books Candlewick Press books Children's books about bears Children's books about hats